One Lonely Saturday
by Caike
Summary: After rescuing Orihime from Hueco Mundo and defeating Aizen, Ichigo has feelings, needs inside him that he cannot satisfy without the help of a certain woman... ICHIHIME, lemon.
1. The Rain Stopped

This is my first time ever doing a fic like… this. You'll see what I mean. Please don't be too brutal.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

The battle had been difficult, Ichigo remembered. His sword arm still hurt a week later from clashing with Aizen. The escape had been even more difficult, carrying everyone on his back and flying out of the collapsing fortress. His back still hurt a week later. But it was worth it, all worth it. Facing death countless times was nothing compared to the elation brought by rescuing the beautiful Orihime from her fate.

And yet, though simply overjoyed at their success, there was a pang in his chest. His heart still hurt a week later. Seeing her at school, hearing her laugh, seeing her smile… it all made him so happy, happier than he'd been since his mother's untimely death. But still, the pang continued. The pang seemed to call for one name and one name only…

This was why he knew exactly where he was going as he strolled down the sidewalk, though he hadn't planned this trip. Since the battle, he had taken to walking to sort out his thoughts. Although this had helped some, he still had feelings that could not be settled. The Shinigami battle license, tied to his pants, bounced in time to his steps as he walked. It was Rukia's shift tonight, but he still carried it, just in case she needed help. After all, she had nearly died in Las Noches…

Ichigo's feet plodded on, block after block. His legs seemed to work on their own; no commands he sent seemed to deter them from bringing him to his destination. He did not know the path, nor did he recognize any street. But her reiatsu was so bright, so beautiful that he could sense and find it with ease.

Streetlamp. Billboard. Restaurant. Streetlamp. House. Alleyway. These things did not register in his mind as more than mere fleeting images, as though seen through an extremely fast slideshow. He could have sprinted there; he had the stamina, but he wanted to walk, to take things slow, to for once in his life be a master of his destiny and how to go about it. Broken streetlamp. Fire hydrant. Stray dog. Flowers. Flowers…

The flowers clicked in his mind and for a second he was reminded of her hairpins, the source of her mystical power, power unlocked by his mere presence. Perhaps their fates were more entwined than he thought.

There it was. Her apartment flat. The lights were on and music could be heard in the background. There were sounds of people talking, of excited chatter on the television: Matsumoto and Hitsugaya had vacated it after being called back to Soul Society. She was alone, all alone, and Ichigo thought she must be terribly lonely…

His hand acted without orders and slowly, he knocked on her door. The music ceased, as did the chatter, and footsteps indicated someone approaching. The door swung open to reveal Orihime, dressed in her school outfit, her hair damp and a towel in one hand. She looked utterly bewildered for a moment, but her expression returned to one of joy when she said, "Kurosaki-kun! What a pleasant surprise!"

"Hey, Inoue," he said quietly, a sad smile on his lips. "Can I… can I come in?" he asked awkwardly.

"Oh!" she said, startled, and then stepped aside. "Yes, of course! Come in, come in, how rude of me…"

"It's alright," he said, and walked inside. He sat at the little table, which, he thought, must usually be occupied by Orihime and Tatsuki.

"I'm sorry, I just got out of the shower, and I was drying my hair, and…" she trailed off, then added, "Do you want some tea or juice or milk or something?"

"Tea's fine," he muttered blankly. His mouth had acted on autopilot as his mind vividly imagined Orihime, stark naked and sopping wet, rubbing herself all over…

"Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, and he snapped out of it.

"Sorry, what?"

"I was asking if you wanted anything to eat," she said timidly.

"Yeah, sure," he replied, hoping to sound as though he were all there.

"Good! What would you like? Some chocolate and meatloaf, or maybe a sandwich and some vinegar?" She paused. "Though… people don't usually like my foods, so maybe… bread sounds safe, don't you think?"

He nodded. "That sounds good. But… don't trouble yourself on my account, alright?"

She raised her hands and shook her head. "No, no, Kurosaki-kun, it's no trouble at all!" she said hastily. Then, as a small blush appeared on her face, she added, "And… it's a pleasure for me to serve you." Her voice lingered on the last two words.

For an instant, their eyes met, and as he peered into those large grey-blue orbs, he felt he was looking into her pure, beautiful soul. Their gaze broke. She turned and muttered, "I should… I should go make that tea."

She bent over to pour out the kettle, and Ichigo had a perfect view of her rear end. His mouth opened slightly when he realized that her skirt only half-covered that cotton strip that was her panties. An electric shock ran through him, blood filled his face, and he turned his gaze so quickly he nearly snapped his neck. In fact, his neck had made an audible crack in doing this and Orihime had noticed.

"Kurosaki-kun?" she asked, turning her head but remaining bent down, "Are you alright?"

"Y…" he gulped, "Yeah, I'm fine, Inoue," he eventually finished, and desperately tried to keep looking down.

She straightened up and, seeing that it was safe to look again, Ichigo's eyes wandered again to her clothes, to the blouse, tight on her large chest, and to the skirt, short and greatly accentuating her perfect behind. How odd that she wear them after showering…

She saw him staring and, for a moment, he panicked, but was granted a reprieve as she said, "Oh! My clothes… these are the only clean clothes I have, so I had to wear them, and, um…" She blushed again. "I'm so embarrassed."

"Don't be," he said gently, and her blush faded slightly. "You look… beautiful." The words had escaped his mouth without his permission. It seemed his entire body was revolting against his mind, especially a certain part between his legs. He crossed them in half-hearted hopes she wouldn't notice.

Her breathing became a little less steady and she said in a near whisper, "Thank you… Kurosaki-kun."

Their eyes met again. There it was, in plain view: her heart, her wonderful heart, beating perfectly in time with his own. It cried out in longing, longing for him. He knew from her gaze, from her smile, from the tone of her voice, what had to be done. He needed to, for her, for himself, for their hearts.

She turned once more to make the tea and silently, he got up. There would be no grand speech, no proud admission, no romantic gesture. Instead, he simply grasped a shoulder lightly, turned her around, and kissed her on the mouth with everything he had.

There was a pause that seemed to last an eternity where he stood in this pleasurable stance, waiting to see if there would be more, or if he would soon locate his balls in the vicinity of his chin.

The former played out as she kissed back, wrapping her arms around him tightly, as though letting go would mean falling to death. They intensified, moment by moment, and Ichigo, body acting on instinct, drove his tongue into her mouth and she willingly accepted. Her tongue played with his for a bit, but then she, showing aptitude that he'd never expected from her, sucked his tongue so erotically that his mind was filled with nothing but absolute light and pleasure.

His hands began to hover just above her chest. Suddenly, almost silently, she uttered, "Go…" and from that signal, he began to undo the straining buttons until finally, her breasts and bra bounded forward. He wanted to squeeze them now; to feel the perfectly soft flesh, flesh that no one had ever touched before, not even the psychopath Chizuru.

But he waited, wanting his first touch to be complete, unblocked by anything. He fiddled at her back, trying to find the clasp. He found it, and it was tough to undo, as her breasts were so large that even this DD cup bra was straining heavily and flesh overflowed the cups.

Finally, he unhooked it and the bra sprung off of her, discarded to the floor. There they were, the breasts that caught the attention of every male and certain females in their school, the breasts that, along with the rest of her body, made others perceive her to be a goddess in human form. He found it delightfully ironic that right now, the goddess was offering herself to him.

Still he held back his urges, his desire, and touched the edges of each areola. She moaned softly and Ichigo smiled: perhaps it was because she desired him that much, or because her genetics had built her like that, but either way, these breasts were not merely huge, but also incredibly, almost abnormally sensitive. He traced several circles around the more sensitive area, eliciting more and more moans from her, moans that pleaded for him to do more.

He moved on to the center of the areolas, repeating the action of tracing circles just at the base of her nipples. Her moans grew louder, and she was losing the control of her tongue to the electric pleasure running through her.

At last, he moved onto the erect pink tips, pushing, pulling, and tweaking them just enough so that she felt the maximum pleasure. She parted from him and gasped, "Suck… teeth… please!"

He too abandoned her mouth and motioned that they should go to her bed. She agreed and landed face up on it while Ichigo followed on top of her. Inhaling, he found the scent of her sweat combined with her natural sweet aroma to be erotically tantalizing. Swiftly, he put his mouth on one nipple and sucked hard. Her cries grew even more when he lightly applied his teeth to the tip and increased the intensity of his ministrations on its counterpart. Finally unleashing himself fully, he grasped the other breast with the whole of his hand, squeezing it roughly, though it was so very large that he couldn't even hope to cup it completely. When she'd reached the peak of her pleasure, her index finger pointed downwards toward the button on her skirt and Ichigo grinned a devious grin.

Somewhat reluctantly leaving her glorious breasts, he tore off her skirt; the button sent flying away. All that remained to stand in his way were a pair of tiny pink panties with a tiny bow in the front. Her scent was especially powerful down here, near the very wet spot on her groin, and Ichigo felt rather intoxicated from the scent alone. The panties were pulled from their spot, off her legs entirely and Ichigo stood on his knees between her parted legs.

The world around them melted. There was nothing, nothing but her. Like a tiger watching its prey, he observed her body. She was perfect in every way. Her massive breasts were perky, full, and well shaped. Her bottom, he'd felt, was firm and round. Her waist was slim and toned, despite her incredible appetite. Her legs were long and luscious, gleaming with the sweat from the heat he had caused.

"K-Kurosaki-kun?" she breathed, a worried look in her eyes, "Is… something wrong?" He knew by her tone, that she was deeply frightened by the possibility that he might not like what he sees in her body.

"No," he whispered back, "You are perfect," and saw the ecstasy cover her features from these words.

He returned to his position over her and began working on the area of her sex, the place that no man had ever even witnessed and, he hoped, would never have the chance to witness after him. Two fingers slowly eased their way in and she cried out louder than ever. Playing with her clitoris, he felt extreme satisfaction from the squeals that poured from her mouth. He didn't want her to finish without him, though, so he pulled his hands away and began undoing the zipper on his jeans. His erection throbbed painfully against them, and before pulling them off he reached in his pocket.

He found a condom, a condom that, every so often, was given to him by his father, who had said that a man should always carry one. He grinned at the idea that his crazy idiot of a father had been right for a change. Throwing away his pants, he slipped the condom over his manhood.

Orihime's eyes widened at the sight of it. "So… big…" she panted. "Bigger than I… ever imagined…"

The erection throbbed. She had imagined him, imagined his size, and perhaps had imagined this very scenario? And he had exceeded those expectations? His breathing grew more excited still. "Orihime," he said gently, stroking her hair, "Are you sure you want this?"

She did not nod, but said, "Yes… Ichigo… cock, need, now!"

Another throb. The notion that he'd aroused her so much to drive her to obscenities, to drop the formality of his last name, was nearly overpowering him. Slowly, he eased his way inside her and, with a surge of guilt, felt something give way.

Remorse flooded him. He'd studied anatomy. He knew what he'd done and was not surprised, but pained by the blood that leaked out. He'd hurt her, tainted her with his stupidity. "Orihime," he said softly, "I'm so sorr-"

"More!" she commanded. It was as though she'd never even felt the pain, despite the small tear that had unwillingly trickled from her eye. "Go, go, _go_!"

Not daring to question, he began his thrusts, pounding in and out of her faster and faster while she struggled to keep up the rhythm. While out of her, it felt like he'd been ripped from sweet warmth into strikingly painful cold. But that made returning that much sweeter, like coming home after a long absence. She was absolutely screaming at this point, crying, "Ichigo! Yes! Keep… going!" repeatedly.

"Orihime…" he said, his voice growing steadily in volume. "Orihime. Orihime, _Orihime_. O. Ri. Hi. _Me!_" he roared and with a tremendous thrust, he felt her walls close around him as an incredible, earth-shattering orgasm tore through her. Lightning coursed through the pleasure in her brain and she shrieked higher and louder than either could have ever guessed. He followed, shooting his seed into the condom, coming so hard and so long his eyes crossed and he felt nothing, saw nothing, heard nothing, smelled nothing and tasted nothing but her, everything of her, her entire body, mind, and soul. He felt love and pleasure combining until he was on the threshold of divinity.

The orgasms subsided. Ichigo pulled out of her, removing the condom from his flaccid member and resting next to her. The two lay there, panting, sweat soaked and cooling off. "That… was… incredible," she exhaled and Ichigo smiled triumphantly. "I hope I wasn't too bad…" she added meekly.

He raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? You were _amazing," _he said, watching relief run over her features as he did so. A few minutes later, a thought struck him: He'd nearly forgotten something, something very, very important. "Orihime," he muttered, turning to look at her.

She returned his gaze. "Yes?"

"I love you."

Her heart swelled and she almost cried tears of joy. "Oh, _Ichigo_… I love you so much; I've loved you since… since I can remember! I love you more than I love robots or salmon milkshakes, or even more than all my friends! You're the most wonderful man, the greatest – mpht!"

Ichigo had silenced her with a kiss. As they parted, he said, "We can talk about this in the morning… for now, let's sleep, okay?"

She nodded slowly and fell, surprisingly quickly, into a deep sleep. He willed himself to remain awake as long as he could. He wanted to watch her chest rise and fall with her lips curved into a smile. His ego stood proud at the knowledge that he had put that smile on her face; he brought her that joy. But by the same token, she had caused an equal or perhaps greater amount of happiness… Even after his years and years of torment, sorrow, and suffering, after the years of tragedy he'd endured, he felt that life had been wonderful to him. He wouldn't trade it for the world.

Soon, he too succumbed to sleep, her arms still loosely wrapped around him.

The morning approached and with it, a few soft rays of light that kissed Ichigo awake. He sighed dismally, for his first thought that he was in his own bed, which, moving on to his second thought, meant that the last night had been but a mere fantasy and that soon, his father and probably at least one of his sisters were going to burst into the room, perhaps with some form of physical abuse. He'd had plenty of these fantasies, especially in the last week. Though, he admitted, none had been quite as vivid as that one.

But as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes, he noticed something very strange. This was not his room. Upon further examination, he deduced that this was not even his house. Instead, he concluded, it was a house that, regrettably, he'd only visited a few times prior. He was also naked in this house… which meant that the woman next to him was none other than Inoue Orihime, and that the last night, he thought as his eyes widened, was wonderfully real.

She stirred suddenly. Opening her eyes, a look of disappointment overcame her that, to Ichigo, indicated that she seemed to be on a similar train of thought.

"G'morning," he said. He kissed her cheek.

Just as he had done, her eyes widened, and her lips returned to an enormous smile as she brightly exclaimed, "Good morning, my love!"

"Wow…" he said, bearing a look of awe.

"What?" she asked, panicked. "Should I not have said that? I'm sorry! I'll –"

"No, no," he said calmly. "I just… it's great to hear it like that. It makes it… I dunno, more real, you know?"

"Yeah," she said, and her smile returned. As quickly as it had come, however, it was replaced by one of alarm. "Oh my God!" she squeaked, fumbling around for something on the side of her bed, "Where's my clock? What time is it? We're gonna be late for school! Oh, where's my uniform, it's somewhere over here…"

"Orihime, hang on," he said, grasping her shoulders. "It's Sunday. And besides, Ochi-sensei doesn't really care if we're late."

Relief washed over her. "Oh, goody," she said, and returned to snuggle with Ichigo.

"Just gotta make a quick phone call," he said. The phone, conveniently enough, lay right next to Ichigo's side of the bed. Dialing his number, he then listened for someone to pick up. "Hello? Dad? I'm, uh," he looked around and spotted a textbook, "At a friend's house studying. Yeah. I know. Okay. Listen, can you just put Rukia on the phone? Please? Yeah, she's a better child than I'll ever be, whatever, just put her on the line!" He sighed, and Orihime giggled. Rukia's voice came from the other side.

"Hello?"

"Rukia? It's Ichigo."

"Ichigo? Where are you? Yuzu's been worried about you."

"I'm at Inoue's."

A pause. "Excuse me? I'm afraid I didn't catch that."

"I'm…" he blushed, "At Inoue's. Studying."

"Studying," she repeated, clearly very skeptical. "You've been over at Inoue's since last night _studying._"

"That's… that's right," he confirmed, trying and failing to sound somewhat confident.

"May I ask what you were studying?"

Another pause. Ichigo could practically hear her smugness over the phone. "I… Chemistry." It had been the first thing to come into his mind.

"Oh, I bet you were studying chemistry –"

"Shut up!"

"Were you also studying a bit of biology, too? Hmm?"

"I said shut up!" Ichigo's face was rapidly becoming red. "Listen, I'll tell you about it tomorrow at school, alright?"

"Promise?"

"Promise," he rolled his eyes, "Now can I ask you a favor?"

"Sure. Ichigo, have I ever told you you've got some great manga here?"

"What? Oh, thanks, I guess. Anyway –"

"I mean the female character in this one, I forget what it's called, she's just so _deep_ –"

"Can you pay attention for just one second?! Just _one_!" Orihime laughed more.

"Okay, fine. What do you need?"

He exhaled deeply. "Can you cover the Hollow Watch again tonight?"

"Does this have something to with your 'studying'?"

"_Can you do it or not?"_

"Sure, Ichigo. Why didn't you just say so in the first place?" she asked, clearly relishing his infuriation.

"Gah!" he roared and swore loudly. Orihime laughed so hard that she clutched her sides. "Okay! Thank you! Don't let Kon touch my things while I'm not there!" As Rukia hung up, he slammed down the phone with a great _clack_. He looked at Orihime, the last of whose giggles had just subsided, and his frustration melted. "It's just… I don't want people to know about us yet. It's not that I'm embarrassed or ashamed of you or anything, I just…"

She put a finger to his lips, quieting his explanation. "I understand. Your – our – secret is safe with me." Hand lowered, she asked, "So what do you want to do now?" But even as she spoke, a tremendous growl escaped from her stomach. Her face turned so red a tomato would be jealous. "Uh, th-that, that wasn't – it was –"

Ichigo smiled. "It's alright. I'm hungry too. I'll make us some breakfast," he said, and, stepping over to the small kitchen, began cracking some eggs to scramble.

Orihime rose from her bed and picked up a male school uniform top made for someone very small. "Oh…" she said wistfully, "This is Toushirou-kun's… he must have left it here by accident." Unconsciously, she clutched the uniform tightly, as if trying to extract the shirt's memories.

This did not go unnoticed by Ichigo, even as he prepared their breakfast. "You really miss them, huh?"

She gave a slight nod. "They were only here for a short while, but even still… ever since Sora died, I… I haven't had anyone to stay with me. Tatsuki-chan comes over every so often, but…"

"You don't have anyone stable," Ichigo finished, surprised at himself for understanding so well as he lay the eggs down at the table.

"Mhm," she mumbled, trying to hold back tears.

Ichigo placed a finger under her chin and lifted it, so that she could meet his gaze, eyes swimming with tears. "I love you, Orihime," he told her softly. "And any time you need some company, I'll be here for you."

"Ichigo…" she uttered, letting the tears fall. He embraced her tightly and let her weep on his shoulder as she released her pain in a cathartic cry.

"I mean it, Orihime. I'll stay with you whenever you like."

"B-but," she said, sniffling a little, "What about your family? Your sisters?"

"Hmm," he mumbled, "I know. How about this? You and I see each other at school. So when I come home, I'll spend the afternoon with them, and then in the evening, I'll come see you."

He released her and was pleased at her smiling yet tear-stained face. "That would be wonderful, Ichigo."

He smiled back. "Good. Now come on, let's eat. Itadakimasu."

"Itadakimasu," she repeated with one last sniffle, and they dove into the meal. Orihime, after a few bites of her eggs, said, "Yum, Ichigo, I didn't know you could cook!"

Modestly, he replied, "It's nothing, just, when Yuzu's sick, Karin and my dad aren't exactly willing to pick up the extra work, so I do it."

She smiled, nibbling contentedly at her food. "I think it's wonderful."

He grinned. "Yeah?"

"Yes."

They ate, and as they did so, Ichigo marveled at the voracity of her appetite and, perhaps even more astounding, how she managed to keep her impressive figure. Her metabolism, he imagined, had been very kind to her.

But soon, his mind ventured to different thoughts on his love… She was gentle, kind, intelligent, and wise and caring, especially about him: She always seemed to empathize with him, to perfectly understand, even from before their mission to Soul Society. She would worry, too, always worry about protecting others with little care for herself. This line of thought led to a question that Ichigo, when he thought about it, had wanted to ask for a great deal of time.

"Why did you leave?" he asked suddenly.

She looked stricken by the question, her eyes widened and her mouth slightly open, and a wave of remorse instantly flooded Ichigo. However, he knew that his question needed to be answered, no matter how painful it would be. "I… I – that is, when Ulquiorra…"

"He brought you to Hueco Mundo, right," said Ichigo, nodding. "I know. But he didn't force you, did he?"

She gulped. "… Right." There was a period of silence during which Orihime twiddled her fingers with her eyes clamped shut. Finally, and very rapidly, she said, "He said he was going to kill you!"

"What…?" Ichigo asked near noiselessly.

"And not just you!" she continued, her breathing a little more rapid, "He said he would kill you and Rangiku-chan and Toushirou-kun and – and everyone I care about!" She was outright crying now. "Wh-what could I do? If I refused - if I decided to stay home – everyone would have died, a-and…" she sobbed heavily, "It would be all my fault."

"Orihime…"

"And now you _hate_ me!" she cried, weeping into her hands.

Ichigo reached his arm around her and gently whispered into her ear, "No. I don't. I still love you and there's nothing that can change that."

Her breathing became more regular as she squeaked, "… really?"

"Really."

"Look at me," she said, wiping her eyes, "I keep crying today, and after something so wonderful. I'm so sorry, Ichigo…"

"It's okay," said Ichigo, embracing her fully, holding her tightly to his body. "Please, just… don't leave again."

"I won't," she murmured.

"No matter who tries to take you, I'll fight them all. Have faith in me."

"Always," she replied with a nod, then looked directly up at Ichigo. He met her gaze for a second and then Ichigo, mesmerized by her eyes, leaned down and, cupping her tearstained cheeks, kissed her, gently and tenderly. Pulling away, she tilted her head towards the bed and asked, "Again?"

Ichigo nodded so rapidly it threatened to give him whiplash. He stopped suddenly, a concerned look on his face. "Shit," he said, "I only had the one condom."

Orihime looked disappointed. "Oh," she said, sighing dejectedly.

"W-wait," he said, holding up his hands nervously, "I can go to the pharmacy and back in, like, ten minutes."

Her smile returned. "Okay. Come back soon," she said, kissing him on the cheek before he turned to leave.

"As fast as I can," he said, a cocky grin on his face as he opened the door and sprinted out at top speed towards the pharmacy.

A few minutes later, he arrived at his destination and walked up to the counter intending to confidently proclaim that he would like a box of condoms. However, as soon as he reached the counter, his voice died in his throat and he compensated by pretending to look for an imaginary object that he pretended he had dropped some several feet away.

"_This is stupid,"_ he thought, "_Why is this so difficult? I shouldn't be embarrassed by this anymore. I've had sex with a beautiful girl, I should be able to…" _Just then, a thought struck him. "_I… I've had sex. With a beautiful girl, no less."_ Though he did give himself a pat on the back, he also chastised himself. "_Come on. I shouldn't be acting like that; that's something that Keigo would do. No, that's not true, he'd probably run up and down the streets singing if he had sex, unlikely though it may be. But I guess it's not bad for a bit of self-congratulation. I mean, it _is_ a pretty big milestone."_

Smacking himself on the forehead, he thought, "_Focus. Focus! I've got a task to do here. Alright. Just have to go up there and ask, 'Can I have a box of condoms, please?'"_ Marching up to the counter for a second attempt, Ichigo raised his hand dramatically, puffed out his chest and, once again, stopped short of asking for some condoms.

After a few moments, the clerk said, "Can I help you, sir?"

"Uh, well," Ichigo babbled for a moment, caught off guard, "No, thank you, I was just picking up a…" his eyes quickly scanned the area for the nearest item, "'Extra-Strength Nasal Spray Value Pack'," he read off the bottle awkwardly. "Yep, allergies sure are a killer," he said, trying desperately to sound confident.

The clerk nodded kindly. "Very good, sir."

Ichigo moved to a different aisle and began to start whacking himself with the large bottle of nasal spray. "_Why. Is. This. So. Difficult?"_ he thought, punctuating each word with a whack. Eventually, he returned to the other aisle filled once again with resolve.

Just then, however, a man around Ichigo's age walked up to the counter and said, "Hey, can I get a box of condoms, please?"

"Yes, sir. Would you prefer lubed, or non-lubed?"

"_Wait,"_ thought Ichigo, looking on in awe, "_There are different kinds? I guess the one I used last night was non-lube…"_

"Non-lubed, please."

"Absolutely, sir. Here you go," said the clerk, and handed the guy a box as he paid for it. "Have a nice day."

"Thanks," said the guy, and was swiftly on his way out as Ichigo watched wide-eyed.

Snapping out of it, Ichigo walked to the counter, still holding the bottle of nasal spray, and said, "I'll take what he got."

Condoms in hand, Ichigo sprinted back to Orihime's place and eagerly knocked on the door. "It's open," came the reply from inside, and Ichigo stepped in.

Lying on the bed, Orihime was dressed solely in a silk robe, which stopped just below the waist and bore a good deal of clevage. She wore mischievous a smile and purred, "Come, Ichigo." Hurrying over, he ripped open the box of condoms and put one package aside for later use. "Why do you have nasal spray?" she asked.

"Oh," he said, relinquishing the bottle, which fell to the floor with a thud and rolled under the bed, "It's a long story. Now, where were we?"

"Well," she said, standing and approaching him, "I believe you were here," she took his arms and wrapped them around her, "And I was here," she finished, reaching up to kiss him.

"Oh yeah," he said, leaning in to close the gap, "I remember."

After a few moments of kissing, Orihime parted and said, "Ichigo… a while ago, you said that I don't belong to anyone."

"Yeah," he said, remembering the incident with her brother, "What of it?"

"Well," she said, and began to disrobe, "I want to offer everything I am…" she draped her arms around Ichigo, "mind, soul, and body…" she pressed her naked form against Ichigo's chest, "to you, Ichigo."

Ichigo's breathing had become dry. "I… Orihime, you can't… I mean, I can't accept that…"

"Please," she begged, looking up at him with large, pleading eyes, "Please take me."

Silence, broken by Ichigo. "Alright," he said finally, holding her tight against himself. "I'll accept that you're mine… if you accept that I'm yours."

"Fine," she said, reaching to kiss him once more, "Then we'll be each other's."

They began, yet it differed from the first time. It was slower, less rushed, and Ichigo was very, very gentle. He treated her like a goddess, worshipping her every action and caressing her softly. It was still extremely passionate and Orihime was yet again driven mad with pleasure. They climaxed in unison, the heat from their bodies radiating to the entire room.

"Wow," Orihime panted, fanning herself, "That was… even better… than before."

"You're telling me," Ichigo replied. "I love you."

"I love you too."

A few minutes later, the Shinigami Battle License began blaring and flashing only to be silenced a few seconds later. "_Thank you, Rukia,"_ Ichigo thought.

"You know, it's funny," said Orihime after the License calmed down.

"Hmm?"

"I thought… In the beginning, I thought you liked Kuchiki-san instead of me."

"Rukia?" Seeing Orihime nod, Ichigo had to resist the urge to laugh. "How could you think I'd love her instead of you? She's bossy, violent, stupid… you, you're wonderful. Perfect."

"You really think so?"

"Yeah."

"Ichigo… thank you," she said, beaming at him. "You're smiling, Ichigo"

This seemed rather abrupt to Ichigo and he raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

"You… you're smiling now, really smiling. It's not a grin or anything, but a true, genuine smile."

"I'm not sure what you mean."

"It's just… for all the time I've known you, you've never truly smiled. You've grinned and smirked, or used a false smile to cover something up, but never _really_ smiled. I think…" her voice shrank drastically, "I think it had to do with your mother's death."

A pause, and Ichigo said, very quietly, "How… do you know about that…?"

"I'm sorry!" she blurted out, a panicked look on her face. "Tatsuki-chan told me a while ago, on June seventeenth, the day-"

"She died, right," Ichigo cut in, painfully remembering the incident with the Grand Fisher.

"And she told me you used to smile a lot, before… before it happened, and that afterwards… you never smiled like that again."

"Orihime…"

"When she told me that, I felt like… I could understand you better. After Sora died, I felt like I would never smile again, too. But I found reasons to smile: I found Tatsuki-chan, and my friends, and… especially, you."

Ichigo reflected on her words for a moment and then said, "When you left, it felt like the sunshine had been ripped from my world. I had taken you for granted and I realized how precious you really are. Your capture by the Arrancar… it meant, to me, that I had failed in protecting those closest to me. It hurt. A lot. Also, Tatsuki smashed my skull through some glass."

Orihime did a double take. She'd been listening intently to Ichigo's speech, heartened by his words, and hadn't expected that revelation. She could barely believe her ears. "Tatsuki-chan… what?"

"Eh," he said, shrugging, "I probably would have done the same in her position. She's a good friend, Tatsuki."

Ichigo recalled the day that Orihime had returned, how Tatsuki had given Ichigo a hug that would have broken a weaker man in half and whispered, "Thank you, Ichigo," tears of happiness streaming down her face, "Thank you for bringing her back. You're a hero."

"No," he'd replied, "I'm no hero. Just a guy who cares about his friends."

She'd nodded, smiling broadly as she wiped the droplets from her eyes, and proceeded to give equally tight hugs to Chad and Uryu, the latter of which had appeared to be in quite a bit of pain.

"You should go," she said, promptly snapping Ichigo out of his recollection.

"Wait, what?" he said, trying to wrap his head around what she'd said. "You don't want me here?"

"No, no, no!" she replied hastily, "I just – I – Karin and Yuzu must be missing you; you've been away so frequently… maybe you should go back and spend time with them?"

His surprised look faded, replaced by a smile. Even now, Ichigo thought, when she had him all to herself, she continued to display that incredible sense of care and worry. "Well," he said, "Maybe you're right. I'll go spend some time with them, and I'll see you tomorrow." With that, he got up, but quickly felt a tugging at his jeans. Turning, he saw Orihime staring up at him, a pleading look in her eyes.

"… One more?" she asked, and Ichigo smiled, returning to bed to position himself over her. After all, he thought, what did she think he was going to say?

An hour and a half later, Ichigo found himself merrily strolling down the streets of Karakura through the quiet evening back to his home and, despite his character, whistling. He was, he thought, too damned cheery for his own good. A smile was planted on his face; despite his waiting for the whole night to come crashing down around him simply because he believed his luck didn't warrant such fortune.

He arrived at the Kurosaki residence just as he'd finished whistling the chorus to his favorite song. "Oi! I'm home!" he called, stepping through the door. "Yuzu? Karin? Dad?" A flying kick aimed to his head answered his inquiry and in yet another fortuitous twist of fate completely missed, sending Ichigo's father straight into the wall.

"Hey dad. I forgot that in my home, assault is the standard form of greeting," he said dryly.

"Ugh…" groaned Isshin, slowly rising from the floor. "I was going to tell you to keep it down! Your sisters and Rukia-chan are already sleeping!"

"Wait… Rukia too?"

"Yes, and you should be getting to bed too! You have school tomorrow!"

"Yeah, yeah," he said, waving his father off and walking towards his room. As he entered, Kon immediately jumped out at him. "Ichigooo!" the plushy cried, "Neesan was out for most of the night and you were away at a friend's house and – Hang on…" he sniffed the air with his oddly functional button of a nose. "You smell like…" he gasped in shock. "You! Were you really at a friend's house? Because you smell like you've just – "

He was cut off because Ichigo slammed the Shinigami battle license so forcefully into his face that the soul candy was ejected backwards and bounced off of the back wall. Ichigo caught it and forced it into a small jar on his desk and then hid it safely under his bed where no one would accidentally find it and swallow its contents. "Not tonight, Kon. I'm in too good a mood. Tomorrow? I'm fair game."

As he'd reached for the jar, he'd noticed a note next to it. Picking it up, he read:

"Ichigo,

No exceptionally powerful hollows tonight, so I let that halfwit Kurumadani take care of it and went to bed. Have a good night,

Rukia."

Her name was unnecessary, as Ichigo could count several poorly drawn rabbits across the page. He laughed in spite of himself and climbed into bed and for once in his entire life noticed that it was a bit lonely. Little did he know that across the various streets and avenues, his beloved was thinking, not at all for the first time, the exact same thing.

The morning came and with it a foot to Ichigo's face. His luck had only taken him so far.

"Oi!" yelled Rukia roughly, "Your father says you have to wake up or you'll be late!"

"Shut up!" he roared back, lifting the foot and throwing Rukia across the room.

She landed nimbly and grinned. "Someone's a little grumpy this morning. What, last night's 'studying' didn't go as well as planned?"

Ichigo had been fully prepared to yell at her, but stopped, instead turning away and blushing slightly. He said softly, catching Rukia completely off guard, "No… in fact, it's the opposite."

Her grin faded. She stepped through Ichigo's window and said, "Today. Lunch. You promised to tell me." Seeing him nod, she added, "See you there."

Ichigo began gathering his things and was about to leave until he noticed Kon's "dead" body. Contemplating for a moment, he muttered, "He can wait a few more hours," and left.

The walk to school had taken no time at all, only noticed by Ichigo because he had resumed his damned whistling. Nonchalantly smashing Keigo with his elbow, Ichigo sat down next to Chad and Uryu. "Hey guys," he said pleasantly.

"Hey," replied Chad, giving a slight wave.

"Morning, Kurosaki," said Uryu in turn, engrossed in a book..

"What, no greeting for me?" said a voice behind Ichigo.

He turned and saw Renji, a slightly annoyed look on the lieutenant's face. "You're still here? I'd thought you'd gone back to Soul Society. Sorry, Renji. Didn't see you. Good morning."

Renji's expression turned to one of confusion. "Uh…" he said after a moment, "Don't worry about it. Yeah, Rukia and I were told to stay here and watch over things in case something happens with the remaining Arrancar."

"Hm," said Ichigo, "That sounds good."

"Right…" said Renji, off-put. He leaned towards Chad and Uryu, whispering, "Hey, what's wrong with Ichigo? He's acting weird."

"I don't know," said Uryu, "If Kurosaki's acting nice, that's probably a reason to worry."

"Maybe usually," inserted Chad, "But today… I think it's something different."

"What do you mean, Sado-kun?" asked Uryu, but Chad didn't answer.

Ichigo had noticed their mutterings, and began, "Hey, what're you guys-" but cut himself off as he noticed a very familiar scent behind him. He'd never noticed that particular scent until the day before when he'd become gloriously aware of it. A broad smile covered his face as he turned, knowing exactly what words would reach his ears before they did.

"Good morning, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime called, hand waving in large arcs through the air. Tatsuki stood next to her and caught sight of Ichigo's expression and, like his other friends, wondered about the reason for its existence. Shrugging, however, she dismissed it as a result of Ichigo having heard a funny joke or something.

"Good morning… Inoue," he said, and, catching her eye, smiled even more widely and watched as she did the same. The connection only lasted a moment because Ochi-sensei waltzed into the classroom at that moment.

"Alright, everyone, sit down, sit down! Class is starting!" she called, and the students took their seats.

Orihime waved, a bit flirtatiously, and she too took her seat. Ichigo could hardly concentrate on the lesson, catching himself looking at the back of Orihime's head or, occasionally, seeing her look back at him and feeling himself smile.

In the distance, he heard someone saying something to someone else in his general vicinity.

"Kurosaki? Kurosaki!"

"Hmm…?"

"Kurosaki, are you listening to a word I'm saying?" came Ochi-sensei's voice loud and clear from about six inches in front of his face.

"Gah!" he yelped, and fell backwards from the shock.

"That's what I thought," said Ochi-sensei, grinning smugly and stepping back towards the blackboard as the other students laughed at Ichigo. Grumbling, he stood and picked up his desk.

Thankfully, lunch came without any more interruptions and Ichigo headed to his usual spot, the roof, where Rukia was already waiting, arms folded. "Alright," she said, taking his arm and pulling him to a corner of the roof, "Now tell me everything."

"Uh…"

"Don't you 'uh' me!" she snapped, taking a box of apple juice and inserting the straw, "I know something happened with you and Inoue! Now tell me!"

She began to sip from her box and Ichigo sighed. "Alright…" his voice lowered, he said, "I slept with Inoue."

Rukia spurted the juice all over Ichigo's face, and when there was none left, her mouth remained open out of sheer shock. Ichigo, frustrated, began wiping the juice out of his eyes for a moment until Rukia said, "Sorry…"

"What the hell, Rukia?"

"I just, I… I wasn't expecting _that!_"

She handed him a napkin, which he angrily snatched out of her hand. "Then what the hell _were_ you expecting?" he asked, drying his face.

"I don't know!" she yelled indignantly, "I thought maybe, uh, you two… made out, or something, maybe a _little_ further than that, and then… snuggled for the night?"

"Snuggled," he repeated sourly.

"Like I said, I don't know!" She started uncharacteristically pushing her fingers together while a blush crept up her cheeks. "I just didn't think, that, that you could-"

"You didn't think I could do it? _Thanks,_ really."

"I didn't mean it like that! I just… I mean, come on, did _you_ honestly think that you and Inoue would do it in a single weekend?"

Ichigo went silent. "No," he said, only just above a whisper. "No, but I'm really happy we did."

She smiled. "I'm happy for you, too, Ichigo."

His usual cocky grin was back. "Well, I'm glad I could tell _somebody, _and as long as someone like, say, Renji doesn't know-"

"What don't I know?" said Renji, appearing suddenly.

"He slept with Inoue," said Rukia plainly.

"_Rukia!"_ Ichigo raged.

Renji's eyes widened. He looked at Ichigo, tattooed eyebrows raised, then turned toward Orihime, then back again. Eventually, he grinned, giving a cheesy thumbs up, and said, "Very nice catch, ma – _agh!"_ Rukia delivering a sharp kick to Renji's testicles had truncated Renji's sentence.

Ichigo glanced at the writhing, fetal Renji, then said, "Yeah… I guess it's okay that Renji knows. At least Chad or someone hasn't found –"

"What is there to find out?" said Chad, materializing behind Ichigo.

"Ugh… he slept with," Renji coughed, "Inoue."

"_Renji!"_ Ichigo yelled, kicking Renji in the ribs, causing him to cry out in pain.

"Inoue-san?" Chad asked, then, as expected, gave the simple reply, "Good for you, Ichigo."

"Thanks, Chad…" replied Ichigo, a bit surprised by this response, "On second thought, it's okay you know. But still, you can't tell anyone, least of all Ishida."

"What about me?" Uryu said, emerging from behind Chad.

"_Is there a sign on my back or something?" _Ichigo roared, infuriated.

"Well, Sado-kun?" asked Uryu.

"Oh, Chad, please no…" Ichigo muttered quietly, mainly to himself in a sort of prayer.

"He slept with Inoue-san," said Chad, pointing at Ichigo.

"God damn it," Ichigo whispered, again to himself.

Uryu's eyes bugged out so powerfully that they threatened to shatter his glasses. "_Whaaaat?"_ he outright shouted at Ichigo.

"For God's sake, keep your voice down!" said Ichigo.

"Don't tell me to keep my voice down!" Uryu raged, jabbing an accusing finger at Ichigo. "How could you and Inoue-san – how would she – I never thought she'd-"

"Blah, blah, blah," Ichigo said, thoroughly tired of the whole farce, and punched Uryu in the gut. Uryu, in turn, fell over next to Renji, sputtering.

"Well, thank you all for your incredible support!" said Ichigo sarcastically, throwing his hands in the air, "It's a wonder why I didn't want to tell you guys!"

"It's not that we don't support you, Ichigo," said Chad, "It's just… it's unexpected."

"Yeah, I _got_ that," said Ichigo with an eye roll.

"No, I don't think you did," said Chad. "You have never, ever given any indication that you have picked up or reciprocated any of Inoue-san's hints and suddenly, you're having sex with her."

"What?" Ichigo asked, "Hints? She never dropped any – "

"Sado's r-right," said Renji from the ground, "She… guh, she definitely gave signals that she loved you, really l-loved you… even I picked up on it."

Ichigo paused and reflected, reflected on each individual moment he'd ever spent within the vicinity of Orihime. His mind re-examined her actions, her words, her body language, her expressions and…

He fell to his knees, supported by his hands. "I'm such an idiot…" he muttered.

"Yeah, we know," said Rukia.

"No, really," he said, steadying himself. "I can't believe… I can't believe I never saw her, saw that part of her."

"She came to Soul Society to protect you," Chad said, patting Ichigo on the shoulder. "She's felt so useless just because she couldn't."

"Oh God," Ichigo sighed. All the joy he'd felt earlier had disappeared, replaced by a crushing sense of guilt. She had suffered, willingly put herself in extreme danger, just because of him, solely because she wanted to be of use to him. "I'm horrible," he said, clenching a fist.

"No, you're not. You're a great guy, just a little dense," said Rukia. "And now… you two are together, so it's all better, isn't it?"

"Yeah… I guess it's okay, so long as Mizuiro and Keigo don't find out." As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he flinched, shutting his eyes tight, bracing himself for what was sure to come. But after a few seconds, Ichigo opened his eyelids, noticing that it was still just the five of them and concluding that the world was not, after all, out to get him, for now.

"We're all happy for you," continued Rukia, "Well, except maybe Ishida," she added as an afterthought.

"Kuchiki-san, that is not true!" Uryu declared, rising from the floor and pushing up his glasses. "In fact, I may be the happiest of all for you! Really, good for you, Ichigo!"

Ichigo smiled. "Thanks, Ishida. That means a lot, even if you are just trying not to look bad."

"You might want to go talk to her," said Chad. "Honshou-san seems to be putting the moves on her."

Ichigo turned rapidly to find that Chizuru was, in fact, clearly about to molest Orihime. He shot up from the ground, unaware that his face had become a veritable frightening mask of rage, and began stomping towards the girls. Chizuru too was oblivious to this fact and continued in her advance.

Tatsuki, however, was not. Paralyzed for just a second at the daggers Ichigo's eyes were launching at Chizuru, Tatsuki quickly took action against the lesbian by delivering a roundhouse kick straight to the ribs, sending Chizuru into the fence, unconscious. Fully absorbed in devouring her bread, Orihime had not noticed the entire event.

Ichigo immediately ceased his violent march and his grimace softened. With a small nod of thanks to Tatsuki, he proceeded to smile and wave at his girlfriend, who smiled and waved back. Tatsuki, after a look of suspicion, grasped her best friend by the arm and pulled her to an unoccupied corner of the roof.

"Tatsuki-chan?" said Orihime, a bit startled by this.

"Orihime. Talk," she said in a serious tone.

"About what?"

"Ichigo."

"Kurosaki-kun?"

"Yes. Talk about him."

Orihime paused. "I'm confused."

"What happened over the weekend?"

Another pause. "Um…"

"Don't lie to me, Orihime. I want the truth."

"W-well," she began, "Kurosaki-ku – Ichigo came over, and he… and I…"

"Yes?" Tatsuki urged.

"I… we started talking, I made him some tea, and then…" her cheeks flowed with a blush, leading to a silence.

"Oh my God," Tatsuki said tonelessly, "You slept with him, didn't you?"

Orihime blushed so forcefully a doctor would have feared her face exploding. "T-T-Tatsuki-chan! How can you ask that?"

"Then you didn't?"

"I didn't say _that!_"

"So you did!"

Orihime opened her mouth, then closed it, then opened it again, hyperventilating, and squeaked in the smallest voice possible without being inaudible, "… yes."

"Well," Tatsuki said after a pause, "Do you love him?"

"Of course! You know that!"

"Just checking. Does he love you?"

"Yes," she said confidently, "I know he does, the way he talked to me, the way he treated me yesterday and the day before… it's impossible to do it without loving someone."

Tatsuki smiled. "Yeah, Ichigo's a terrible liar anyway. And if he hurts you, I'll kick his ass into next week," she said, causing Orihime to smile awkwardly. "But now that that's out of the way…" she leaned in closely, wearing a mischievous grin, "How was he?"

Orihime's blush, which had faded, but returned with a vengeance. "He was…" she cleared her throat, "Excellent."

"Really?" Tatsuki asked skeptically, "I never would have taken Ichigo for the 'good-in-bed' type," she finished, prompting another awkward smile from Orihime.

"I… couldn't have imagined anything or anyone could have brought me more pleasure."

Tatsuki laughed. "That's great, Orihime. Really great. He's a good man, that Kurosaki Ichigo."

"Yes," Orihime said, nodding. "Yes he is."

"Inoue," Ichigo called, "Can I talk to you for a second?"

"Of course, Kurosaki-kun!" she responded cheerfully.

Tatsuki got up, said, "Well, I'll leave you kids alone. See you in class, Orihime," and walked away to rejoin the rest of the girls.

"What do you need, Ichigo?" Orihime asked once Tatsuki was far enough.

"I don't like Chizuru or anyone else, for that matter, with their eyes and hands all over you," he answered in a quiet voice.

"I'm sorry…"

"It's not your fault. I just wish there were a way to stop it." A thought struck him. "Wait a minute… I think I know how."

"How?"

"You'll see."

At that moment, the bell rang and everyone returned to class. Ichigo, having settled things within himself, found it much easier to get through the day. When school finally let out, Ichigo stuck behind, and said, "Hey, Inoue."

"Yes, Kurosaki-kun?"

"I wanted to ask… you wanna go out to dinner on Friday?"

The entire class stopped dead in their tracks. Chizuru and Keigo looked like they were having heart attacks, except, like the rest of the class, frozen in time.

Orihime beamed at him. "Kurosaki-kun, I would love to go!"

He returned her smile. "Great. I'll see you then." She nodded and, taking her schoolbag, left. He gave a quick look around to see that his gesture had landed and quickly followed his girlfriend out the door.

Time suddenly resumed its pace, perhaps at double the speed. Tatsuki could only stand and grin as Keigo and Chizuru cried their eyes out dramatically.

"How?" Keigo whined, "How could someone like Ichigo land a date with the gorgeous Inoue-saaaan?"

"It's inconceivable!" cried Chizuru, pounding her desk in fury, "Orihime-chan couldn't possibly fall for that oaf!"

"You idiots," Tatsuki interrupted, "Orihime's loved him for a while, and you guys never had a chance with her in the first place. By the way…" she put on her scariest face possible, "It's clear that she's off-limits now, right?"

"C-crystal," the two said in unison, shivering in fear. Tatsuki chuckled inwardly and strolled leisurely out of the classroom.

"That was really clever, Ichigo!" Orihime cheerfully exclaimed, arms around Ichigo's waist as they cleared the school grounds.

"Ahh, it was nothing," he said, though he did sport a large grin. "Want me to walk you home?"

"Please?"

"I'll do one better," he said, and scooped Orihime off her feet, cradling her in his arms.

"Eep!" she squeaked and immediately began giggling.

He walked, carrying her like she were a princess, silently noticing the looks of admiration and adoration she was giving. However, their blissful trip was immediately interrupted by the Shinigami License flashing with its cry of "Hollow! Hollow!"

"Hoboy," Ichigo said, letting Orihime down and pressing the license against his chest, releasing his Shinigami form. Brandishing Zangetsu, he turned briefly to Orihime and asked, "… Do you want to come?" She eagerly nodded and the two raced off to deal with the threat.

Ichigo's first emotion upon viewing the Hollow was that of relief. This was no Arrancar, not even a Gillian-class Menos. It was simply a Huge Hollow. "_Flying type,"_ Ichigo deduced, pondering the Hollow's powers. "_Probably uses those stingers to fire something." _"Stay here and cover me from afar," Ichigo directed, leaping up to attack.

The Hollow saw Ichigo coming and blocked with its tremendous claws. "Eh…?" it rumbled. "A Shinigami! Splendid, splendid. And with such powerful reiatsu, mmm, I never get a treat like this!"

"Don't plan on changing that," Ichigo replied, cleaving the Hollow's right leg. It cried out in pain, writhing for a while yet still remaining in flight.

"You're pretty s-strong, boy," the Hollow said, dodging Tsubaki, whom Orihime had launched at the Hollow. "But how would you react if I didn't attack you…" he tilted his head towards Orihime, "But the girl?" He began to dive but paused, noticing Ichigo's reiatsu grow heavier and denser.

Eyes in flame, Ichigo roared, "Ban_kai!"_ whipping out _Tensa Zangetsu _and donning his Hollow simultaneously. Circling the Hollow at blindingly fast speeds, he swung his sword innumerable times, crying, "Getsuga… _Tenshou!"_ Red-black waves descended upon it, not merely destroying its mask, but utterly disintegrating it.

Ichigo landed next to Orihime, removing his mask and disengaging Bankai, yet not facing her. "… Ichigo?" she asked timidly. Still, he did not turn around.

"Are you okay… Orihime?" Ichigo said with little emotion.

"Yes."

"Good." A pause, and then, "Can we… can we really do this? You and I fighting alongside each other?"

"I think so."

Though he didn't truly believe her, he said, "We're going to be alright, aren't we?"

"Definitely."

Finally rotating to look her in the eye, he smiled and proceeded to enter his body. "Great. Now… let's go home." Swiftly picking her up and taking pleasure from her giggling, he continued his path down the road. "_I don't need to think about this… she's safe, I'm safe… nothing could possibly go wrong… couldn't it?"_

-------------------

And that's that. I liked some parts, hated others. I did like writing the rooftop scene. Tell me what you liked, what you didn't like… if I should separate it into chapters, whatever. But hey. If there's enough incentive, I'll write a second chapter, maybe. Either way, tell me… and if you can figure out my original account on FFnet, I'll give you a cookie.


	2. The End of a Good Thing

I've starting to write this while I only have two reviews and as such, it may never see the light of day.

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter two: The end of a good thing

Inoue Orihime was an absolute wreck. The darkness that enveloped her as she lay curled up on her futon, surrounded by blanket upon blanket fit well with her mood. It also helped to hide the tears that cascaded down her pale cheeks whose only evidence for existence remained in the light but frequent sobs she let escape from her mouth, buried in her moist pillow. Unfortunately for her, she could not and, even if she could, would not stop thinking about the cause for her tears.

Kurosaki Ichigo.

Specifically, it was the fact that Ichigo had broken up with her one month ago. Worse still, it had been one month before their one year anniversary, the date that happened to be today. Orihime sobbed again, more loudly, with that thought. She'd kept, miraculously enough, a cheerful façade, as usual, for the following month, but seeing him day after day after day, not being able to talk to or face Ichigo had continuously strangled her heart until she could bear it no longer. As such, she had not left the bed, much less the house, in the last four days except to eat and use the bathroom.

She recalled the day Ichigo had dumped her, how cold she had felt, as though she were dying. But despite the pain the incident had caused, she could only blame herself. Ichigo had said that he could no longer bear to see her in danger because of him and had broken it off, "to keep her safe." But she knew the truth: she was weak. She was useless. She was a burden. It didn't matter how much resolve she had or how much she trained. She would forever just get in her friends' way and there was nothing she could do about it. With another sob, she rolled over and tried desperately to return to sleep, to escape this horrendous reality and venture to some magical dream.

Meanwhile, streets away, Ichigo wistfully entered the Kurosaki clinic, uttering "Hey. I'm home."

"Hey, Ichi-nii," said Karin, walking past him reading a manga. "No Orihime-chan today? I haven't seen her in a while."

"No… she's been busy lately," he murmured.

"Ah. You okay?" Karin asked, glancing at him.

"Yeah," he said, quickly faking a cough, "Yeah, I'm just a bit sick, you know, tired and stuff."

"Well… alright," she replied, not completely convinced, "Get a lot of rest."

"Thanks," he said, and with one last fake cough, walked off to his room. Once there, he plopped onto his bed, heaving a great sigh, and began to contemplate his decision. Today was, or, more correctly, would have been their anniversary, he bitterly remembered, the anniversary of that glorious Saturday when he and she had united wonderfully in the throes of passion and love.

But Ichigo had convinced himself that his choice was correct, or at least, he'd tried to convince himself. No, this was definitely the right choice. She was safe, out of harm's way, as long as she had no connections to him, no reason that an Arrancar or Hollow would use to track her down and hurt her. He knew she would be sad for a while, but eventually, she'd get over it and she'd be better off without him, safe and happy, or so he hoped.

But what about his own happiness? Was he to live like that forever, never letting anyone get close for fear of endangering them? Did he really deserve that? No, he reasoned, Yamamoto had said it himself: the life of one cannot be weighed against the whole world. But hadn't he, Ichigo, rejected that statement and acted based on what his heart wanted? This gave Ichigo a headache. No, he decided once more, as long as Orihime was safe, that was all that mattered. No matter how much pain he would be in, it would be worth it just to have her protected.

Maybe some sleep would clear his head. Releasing yet another great sigh, Ichigo rolled over into his pillow.

Downstairs, Karin was not oblivious to her brother's suffering or its cause. Young though she was, Karin knew that Ichigo and Orihime's relationship had come to an abrupt halt. She recalled when Ichigo had finally decided to bring Orihime perhaps, in a lapse of judgment, to the Kurosaki household, some months after they had become a couple. Karin, upon seeing this girl, this attractive, voluptuous girl, enter the house holding her brother's hand, Karin's jaw had actually dropped wide open. She'd remembered her words about not being impressed until Ichigo had brought someone of Orihime-level into the house and certainly lived up to her promise.

"Yeah… Karin, Orihime and I will be in my room," Ichigo had said while Karin sputtered, absolutely speechless. "Deliver this message to the rest of the house: 'Do not enter Ichigo's room under pain of death.'"

"Good to see you, Karin-chan!" Orihime had said as she and Ichigo hurried up the stairs, leaving a still-dumbstruck Karin to wave dazedly after them, babbling incoherently. As soon as she had snapped out of it, which, Karin estimated, took several minutes, Karin had raced through the house, calling, "Yuzuuuuu! Goat-chiiiin! Ichi-nii's brought home a-a-a babe!"

Orihime had been good to Ichigo. Karin saw Ichigo smile more and more, abandoning his usual scowl in favor of a contented grin. But then, about one month ago, Ichigo had entered the house looking more miserable than ever and Karin had immediately picked up on it. She wouldn't want to impose upon Ichigo in his time of sorrow, so she didn't ask about it, opting to wait until Ichigo wanted to tell the family, or at least just Karin. Of course, considering her brother's introverted personality and his penchant for not wanting to trouble his family, Karin understood that for Ichigo to open up to her it might take several years. Karin hoped that luck would swing in their favor.

"Gaaaah!" Ichigo grumbled, muffled, into his pillow. Sleep wouldn't come to him. He'd never understood the concept of a broken heart. He'd even found it preposterous that a heart could actually break without the person dying. But now he found himself eating his words, like someone with Chad's strength was pounding on his chest. He wanted a hollow, a number of hollows, even a Menos-class Arrancar to show up just so that he could go all out and vent some of this frustration.

"Iiiichigo!" came a cry from above. Kon was headed toward Ichigo in freefall, arms wide. "What's the matter, Ichigo? Where's Inoue-san? How can anyone mope with Inoue-san as his girlfriend? You need to stop taking her for grante- gah!"

Ichigo had throttled Kon by the throat, effectively cutting him off. "Shut the fuck up. Shut the fuck up and listen to me, you manufactured and then rejected piece of shit," he said very sternly and seriously, causing Kon to stop struggling in Ichigo's grip. "I never took Orihime for granted. Every day she was with me was like a dream, a dream that I thoroughly enjoyed before I came crashing down to reality. She was my goddess, and I was her worshipper. I still am. Now, you're probably wondering in that stupid little brain of yours why I'm using past tense. You want to know? Fine. You get the _honor_ of being the first person I tell this," he said sarcastically, breathing deep, "I broke up with Orihime because her relationship with me was putting her in danger and I wouldn't have her death on my conscience."

"Ichigo…" Kon uttered now that Ichigo had loosened his grip somewhat, unable to react while staring at Ichigo's sullen look. It paralyzed Kon, and as he knew from the intense emotion he felt from witnessing it, he realized that Ichigo's pain must be insanely worse. Kon wondered how Ichigo was able to bear it.

"And I swear to God, if you breath a word of this to anyone – Rukia, Urahara-san, Chad, _anyone_ – I will take that little pill that houses your life and crush it between my fingers. Do you understand?" he said, reassuming his tight grip. Kon nodded. "Good," he said, and released the plushie, who grasped his throat while Ichigo lay back in his bed. With another breath, he added, "Sorry about that 'manufactured and rejected' comment. That was uncalled for."

"D-don't worry about it."

Just then, Rukia jumped through the window , cheerfully announcing, "I'm hooome!" With a glance at Ichigo, she asked, "What's wrong, Ichigo? You've been looking terrible for weeks."

"Nee-san! It's terrible!" Kon cried, flapping his arms dramatically, "Ichigo, he-" he took one look at Ichigo, then back at Rukia. "He… caught some weird stomach virus. Very bad."

"Yeah, that's it," said Ichigo, sitting up. "A stomach virus. I feel like shit."

"Hmm," said Rukia, a worried expression on his face. "Maybe you shouldn't be going to school, then."

"Nah," said Ichigo, stretching, "I can stick it out."

"Well, okay," said Rukia, worried expression remaining, "Be sure to get lots of rest."

"Yeah. Thanks," replied Ichigo, splaying out on his bed once more as Rukia walked out of the room.

"_Ichigo…"_ Rukia thought upon entering her room, _"You're such a terrible liar."_

Hours later, Ichigo had finally drifted off to sleep. "No…" he muttered, tossing and turning, "No, please… don't… not again…" and suddenly, he awoke, sitting up rapidly. "_Orihime!"_ Sweating, he looked around, relieved for once that he was in his room.

The dream was always the same. A large room with white halls, which bore an uncanny resemblance to Las Noches, and Ichigo was holding Orihime, who was bleeding profusely from several vital spots on her body. Ichigo, clad in his Bankai clothing while his Hollow mask crumbled away, was sobbing, watching the color drain from his love's face. And yet, while he remained tortured by this scene, Orihime continued to smile as serenely as ever.

"Hold on," Ichigo pleaded, taking her hand in his, "Please, Orihime, hold on. You'll be okay."

"Ichigo…" she breathed, and then coughed up a mass of blood. "I love you."

"Oh God," he responded, trying to ignore his own tears, "I love you too. I love you… more than anything, more than my own life."

"Kuh-" another bloody cough, "Kiss me, Ichigo."

"Of course," he whispered, and leaned down, kissing her with all he had, though horribly disgusted by the taste of blood.

"I love you," she said again once they'd parted. "I'll always love you. I always have."

"I love you forever. You're going to be okay, just hold on."

"No…" she said, weakly leaning her head from side to side.

"No?" he repeated blankly. The concept seemed unreal to him.

"Goodbye, Ichigo," she said, and her hand released its grip. Her complexion was perfectly white.

Ichigo, hand shivering, reached down to her face and gently pulled her eyelids closed. He pulled her to his chest, kissing her cheek and then embracing her tightly. "Goodbye, Orihime," he responded. Hyperventilating for a few seconds, he screamed in absolute agonizing grief, his cry echoing through the halls.

He had been the one to live. She had died. She had died _for him._ She had died _because she had been close to him and he had failed to protect her_. It was his mother all over again.

He always woke up at this point. The dream had started haunting him about eleven months ago. Before that time, he'd constantly pondered Orihime's safety. It seemed that his subconscious had finally gotten to him. He'd thought leaving her would cease the dream's occurrence, but clearly, he was wrong. But faced with no other choice, he tried to rest one more time. Soon, his world faded to darkness, but he quickly awakened on the side of a building, surrounded by pouring rain.

"The side of a building?" he asked the air and realized that he was in his inner world, further evidenced by the appearance of Zangetsu next to him. "Zangetsu!" he called over the pounding rain, "Why is it raining so hard here?"

"Don't you know, Ichigo?" Zangetsu called back. Ichigo remained silent. "You've betrayed your own heart! When your heart is out of harmony, it rains. But it only rains lightly for such a situation. For it to rain like this, for your world to be shrouded in a typhoon of colossal proportions, your heart is severely damaged."

"I can't do anything about it!" Ichigo called indignantly, "It's for the best! Her safety comes before my happiness! I can't be that selfish!"

Zangetsu paused, and then said, "As you wish. It is your world, after all, and you are in charge. I can't tell you what to do. I can only say that when your heart is in this much chaos, perhaps even you know that things are not right. I hope that when next we meet, these skies are clear."

Those words in mind, Ichigo watched his inner world fade, leaving him sweating into his pillow. "God damn it," he muttered, fist clenched. "God _damn_ it."

School the next day was dull as usual for Ichigo. The combination of an awkward and painful situation when he and Orihime would run into each other had been replaced by longing when looking at her empty seat. Even though it crushed his heart to see her, it still made him happy to see his beloved.

"Hmm…" Ochi-sensei muttered, peering at the attendance sheet, "Inoue's out again? That makes four days in a row." She looked around the class and stopped at Rukia. "Kuchiki! Could you take Inoue's homework to her today?"

"Oh! Uh, sure," said Rukia, accepting the stack of papers from the teacher's hands. Before returning to her seat, Rukia noticed that Ichigo had looked up at mention of Orihime, an excited if somewhat frightened expression covering his features. Noticing the lack of his beloved, however, he resumed his drooped state. Rukia made a mental note to investigate later. Tatsuki too noted Ichigo's expression, scrutinizing it and storing the image in her mind.

"Oi, Ichigo!" Rukia called after school, "I've got to deliver Inoue's homework to her. Want to come along and check on her?"

Ichigo had tensed up at mention of Orihime, but quickly relaxed soon afterward. "I've, uh…" he sighed, "Yeah, I've got a lot of homework to do and I'm pretty tired. I'm just gonna… head home and get to it."

Again, Rukia didn't want to force the issue, so she merely said, "Alright. See you there," and hurried over to Orihime's house, books in hand.

Knocking on the door, she heard a subdued voice squeak, "Come in." Gently, Rukia pushed open the door, walked into the dark flat and was immediately crushed by a sense of gloom. She wasn't sure whether it was the reiatsu of the resident of the flat, the general dark atmosphere, or the incessant sobs emanating from the mass of blankets on top of the futon in the corner, but Rukia's heart felt strangled inside this building.

"… I-Inoue?" Rukia asked the blankets after a long pause.

The blankets rose to reveal Orihime, sitting up in her bed looking exhausted. "Oh… hello, Kuchiki-san," she said miserably, wiping her moist eyes.

"Uh, uhm…" Rukia mumbled, organizing her delivery of folders and papers, "Ochi-sensei sent me to bring you your homework, so… here you go." Slowly, she set the stack down in front of Orihime.

"Thank you, Kuchiki-san," she muttered meekly, pulling the papers towards her.

"… Are you okay?" Rukia asked, knowing the obvious answer. "I mean, you look even worse than Ichigo." At the mention of Ichigo's name, Orihime's tears flowed more forcefully than ever. "Oh God! I'm sorry, what's the matter?" Rukia asked urgently.

"I-if I t-t-tell you," Orihime said through sobs, "Y-you c-c-can't tell a-a-a-anyone! P-p-please, not Sad-d-do-kun, n-not T-tatsuki-chan… nobody!" Rukia nodded. A deep breath and Orihime whispered, "Ichig- Kurosaki-san broke up with me."

The pieces clicked into place. Rukia could hear the gears turning in her own head. "Ichigo… broke up with you?" Orihime nodded. "What? When?"

"Just a month ago."

"That idiot…" she muttered, "Why the hell would he do that?"

"He said… Ich-Kurosaki-san said that by being w-w-with him, I was in d-d-danger and…" with a great cry, she bawled, "He didn't want me around!"

Rukia's fury rose more and more with each word Orihime said. "Inoue… Ichigo-"

"He's right," she squeaked once she'd calmed down. "Kurosaki-san's right. I'm just a liability, a burden… I'm not strong enough; I'm not good for battle… I'm useless."

Rukia snapped. "Don't you ever – _ever_ – say that again, Inoue! You are absolutely not useless, not in battle, not in anything else! I've told you before that without you, I'd be dead by now! I'm sorry, I know you love him, but Ichigo is an absolute _moron_! He doesn't know what he's done to you and he doesn't know what he's done to _himself_! I don't know if you've seen him, but Ichigo has been suffering like never before ever since he broke up with you! He's depressed, he's fatigued, he's generally unhealthy… he's worse than he was when his inner Hollow was acting up, worse than when I was captured, worse than when _you_ were captured! Without you in his life… he's crumbled away to a shell of himself."

"Kuchiki-san… But Kurosaki-san doesn't wan-"

"He does. He _does _want you back, more than anything he's ever wanted in his life. But you know Ichigo – He's stubborn, he thinks what he's doing is the right thing. He tries not to show it to anyone, but it's all too apparent. And you know why he broke up with you? It's not because you're useless, or you're weak, or you're a burden. It's because he's _scared_, Inoue. He's scared of losing the most important person in the world to him because it happened once before. To him, losing you would be like losing – or failing to protect, in his eyes – his mother. It haunted him for over a decade after that and he knows that losing you would do something worse. He doesn't want that on his conscience."

"But what I can do…?"

"It won't happen instantly. I'll work on him, but I need your permission to tell the others."

"I… but if I tell T-Tatsuki-chan, she'll… she hurt him, a-and I can't-"

"She won't. I'll make sure nothing too bad happens to him."

"Really?" she asked, hopeful eyes on Rukia.

"I promise."

Orihime breathed deeply. "Then… you can."

Rukia nodded and stood up. "I also promise things will be fixed. I'll get him to come to you."

Orihime sniffled, sobbed, and then burst into a full-blown cry. "Thank you… thank you so much, Kuchiki-san."

"Don't worry. That… is what _nakama_ are for." Having said that, Rukia stepped out the door and hurried back toward the Kurosaki clinic.

At the residence, Ichigo sighed and laid his face into his math workbook. "Who am I kidding…" he murmured into the pages, "I'll never be able to concentrate… if only a distraction could give me an excuse." Just then, Rukia burst into the room and slapped Ichigo hard. "Gah! What the hell?"

Winding up again, she slapped him repeatedly until Ichigo's cheeks were sufficiently red. "Okay," said Rukia, respiring, "I promised I wouldn't do anymore."

"Really. That's great," said Ichigo sarcastically, "Now do you mind telling me what the fuck that was for?"

"You are the biggest idiot I've ever seen."

"What?"

"You broke up with Inoue."

Ichigo was stunned. "No, I…"

"_Don't _lie to me, Ichigo. She told me."

He was silent for just a moment before replying, "It's for her own good, her mine-"

"Bull_shit!_" roared Rukia. "You've gotten rid of what's made you happy more than _anything,_ more than battle, more than gaining strength, more than saving people, and all because you're afraid! You're afraid that you're not strong enough or fast enough and you don't have any fai-"

"Shut _up!_" bellowed Ichigo in such an authoritative tone that Rukia was awed. "She will be better off without me or my problems and _you_ don't have any say in this."

A pause.

"Fine," she said simply, "I'll let you be… for now. But you can't avoid this forever," she said, stepping out of the room. With one last glance, she said, "And you won't last. I know it," and walked away.

When Rukia had left, Kon emerged from under the bed. "That was quite a conversation," he said timidly, approaching Ichigo. "Are you okay?"

"No," he replied, easing into bed. "Not at all."

"Maybe nee-san's right."

"Maybe," he breathed, closing his eyes, and hoped the dream wouldn't haunt him.

Tatsuki found herself thinking about Kurosaki Ichigo more than she'd normally like to. Ichigo's expression. Orihime's absence decline in disposition and. There had to be some connection. Ichigo. Orihime. Ichigo. Orihime. Ichigo. Ori- "That's it!" she cried suddenly, sitting up abruptly. "That stupid son of a bitch dumped her!" Teeth clenched, she raised a fist and growled, "and I'm going to get him for this if this is the last thing I do!"

Ichigo was out of his own head for the duration of the school day. Ochi-sensei's lecture, Keigo's assault and badgering, none of it registered with Ichigo. He didn't even eat lunch. Doubts about his decision battered his psyche all day long. It wasn't until he left to go home that he snapped out of it, hearing Tatsuki's voice call, "Hold it right there, Ichigo!"

He stopped, turning to face her. "What do you want?" he asked plainly.

"What do you have to say for yourself?"

"What?"

"What possible excuse could you have for what you did to Orihime?"

Ichigo felt a stab at his heart. "… What're you talking about? What happened to her?"

Tatsuki ground her teeth together. "I can't believe you. I can't fucking believe you. I thought you would've changed after you came back from that dark place. But still, you choose to lie right to my face."

Ichigo held his ground. "I… I don't know what you're talking about."

Enraged, Tatsuki sprinted to Ichigo and grasped him by the collar. "The only reason you're not lying in a pool of your own blood right now is because that would make Orihime sad."

"Listen, Tatsuki," Ichigo replied, scowling at her, "You just don't know what the hell's going on."

"_Don't I?"_ she snarled, tightening her grip and attracting the attention of Renji, who'd arrived in Karakura for the bimonthly check the Commander General had ordered ever since the Winter War, and Rukia. "I've known you for over _ten years_, Ichigo! I know you better than almost _anyone_! You probably ruined her life all because you want to compensate for your feeling of weakness! You think that you can just throw her love for you away, the love that she's had _since she met you_, and make her decisions for her! But guess what, Ichigo? You have to let some people live their own lives! You can't control them, even if you think you're doing the right thing! And you know what else? What hurts her about this the most is that she knows you didn't have enough faith in her to keep her with you!"

"But… but what if she gets hurt?" Ichigo asked, awed. "What if I'm not there to protect her?"

"Ugh, you're _such_ an idiot!" she grumbled, releasing Ichigo's collar. "Listen, and listen well, 'cause I'm only gonna say this once. She. Can. Protect. Herself. And I swear to _God_, if you don't understand this, to hell with what Orihime'll think, I'm going to beat the hell out of you!"

Fist clenched, he buckled over. "God, what've I done…?"

"We all make mistakes," Tatsuki said gently, "You can't be perfect, Ichigo. Now go make up with her and don't come back 'till you do."

"I will. I promise," he said, and quickly dashed off to Orihime's residence.

Watching him go off, Tatsuki added with a look at Rukia and Renji, "Three thousand yen says they have _wicked_ makeup sex."

"You're _on!"_ yelled Renji, prompting an attack on his groin from Rukia.

Ichigo was almost to Orihime, thinking over and over, "_Please, please don't let me be too late…"_

Orihime, getting up from bed for a glass of water, suddenly sensed the too-familiar spiritual pressure of a Hollow, and from the sound of its roar, it was a Huge variant, and pretty close to her house. Sighing, she knew that her own above-average spiritual pressure would attract it and she supposed she should take care of it.

Suddenly, the Shinigami Battle License began flashing and crying. "_Oh, dammit,"_ Ichigo thought, increasing his run speed, "_not now… It's close. I can stay human until I get there, finish it off, and then return to my body."_ As he predicted, he quickly arrived at the Hollow's location and, in horror, realized that it was directly in front of Orihime's house. Quickly reaching for the License, he was about to press it to his flesh when the Hollow's head split clean in two, its body following shortly after by a small yet bright flash of light.

Ichigo immediately recognized it as Tsubaki. When the Hollow disintegrated, he saw Orihime dressed in sleeping robes and standing in her doorway, eyes widened at the sight of her ex-boyfriend. "… Uh, Hi," he said awkwardly, slowly stepping towards her.

"Hello, Kurosaki-san," she said plainly.

Her tone hadn't been vicious, but the use of his last name and an even more formal honorific felt to Ichigo like a cold stab in the heart. Nevertheless, he kept his resolve. "Can… can I come in?"

She nodded. "Of course… how rude of me," she said quietly, and led Ichigo inside.

As he entered, he noticed how different the place looked. The most obvious change was that the whole flat was completely disorganized. Where once the clothes were neatly folded, her shirts and socks were strewn about. Here stuffed animals, usually lined up according to height, were thrown all across the room. Enraku, Ichigo noticed, was facedown on her bed. The sheets were off and the blankets were completely unfolded.

"Would you like something to drink? Tea, juice, or something…?"

"Tea's fine," he sighed, and then clenched his fist. "Okay. Okay. Orihime," he called, and she turned slowly to him. "I need to tell you something."

"I'm listening," she murmured.

He opened and closed his mouth several time and, exhaling deeply, bowed low to the ground and said, "I'm sorry."

Orihime, taken aback, widened her eyes. "Excuse me?"

"I… I've been stupid," he said, rising. "Very stupid, _extremely_ stupid… in fact, I've been stupider than I've ever been in my entire life. And… I don't expect you to immediately forgive me. I completely understand if you flat out reject me. I just want you to understand."

"Kurosa-"

"Please, let me finish," he begged. "I thought that, in keeping you away from me, I was making a good decision for you, that I was doing what's best for you. But I… I was taking away your freedom to choose. I was doing something to you against your will… in some way, I'm the same as Aizen."

"That's not true!" she protested.

"No, it is. But I'm going to change all that right now." Grasping her hand, he looked in her eyes and said, "I love you, Inoue Orihime, and I want to be with you as long as possible."

"Ichigo," she whispered, and his heart tensed. "You were wrong." Nearing her face to his, she softly spoke, "I would never, ever flat out reject you." Watching, smiling as Ichigo's eyes sparkled with joy, she put her lips to his.

A minute later, they parted. "I can never apologize enough to you," said Ichigo, holding her to his chest.

"You never needed to," she muttered. "Just… being with me is enough."

"Then I'll never let you down again. Ever." Cupping her cheeks, he kissed her again. She kissed back and it wasn't long until it escalated, and the two slowly and carefully made their way to the bed. Laying themselves on the mattress, Orihime picked up the discarded Enraku. Prepared to throw him away, she hesitated and set him gently in the corner.

Then, before long, unbeknownst to them, Ichigo and Orihime were making Renji lose 3000 yen.

When they finished, a panting Ichigo rolled over to Orihime. "Boy… I missed that," he said, wiping the sweat from his brow.

"Me… me too," Orihime said, taking slow and deep breaths.

"Huh," said Ichigo, blinking rapidly for a second, "I didn't realize how tired I am… I haven't really been sleeping well these past weeks."

"Well then," she said, placing her hands on Ichigo's head. "Let me be your pillow."

Nestling between her breasts, the scent of her sweat mixed with her own magnificent natural aroma made Ichigo smile goofily. "Yeah," he mumbled, yawning, "That sounds pretty good to me," and let his eyelids shut.

He found himself not in a long, white-walled hallway, but a house that seemed pretty comfortable. He was dressed in a white medical coat and standing in the doorway of the house.

Suddenly, he heard a beautifully familiar voice call, "Ichigo! You're home, my love!" Orihime walked out from what Ichigo guessed was the kitchen wearing an apron and wrapped her arms around him. "Welcome home!" she added, planting a kiss on his cheek. "The kids are upstairs, sound asleep. How was your day?"

"Pretty good," he said, putting his arms around her waist. "You know… this may seem random, but… I'm really glad we're married."

She smiled sweetly. "Oh, Ichigo… me too. Me too," she said, and the two kissed once more.

The dream shifted. Ichigo was back on the side of the building in his inner world, Zangetsu next to him. The sky bore no clouds, the sun shined through majestically.

"The rain has stopped," said Zangetsu, smiling. "I'm glad."

"Yeah… I'm glad too," Ichigo said, grinning back at his sword. "But I guess that's kind of obvious."

Zangetsu chuckled. "You made the right choice. For everyone."

Ichigo nodded. "Yeah. I think so."

With a wave, Zangetsu began fading away. "Keep yourself happy, healthy, and wealthy, Ichigo."

"I will," said Ichigo, waving back. "I promise."

He awoke to the feeling of Orihime stroking his hair as he lay on her naked chest. "Hey…" he greeted her.

"Good morning," she said sweetly.

"What time is it?"

"About nine o'clock."

He smiled. "That was the first time I've slept through the night in a month."

"It won't be the last," she replied.

"You're right," said Ichigo, getting up and stretching, "It definitely won't. By the way, Orihime?"

"Hmm?"

"I know it's late, but happy anniversary."

She smiled. "Happy anniversary, Ichigo. It's exactly what I wanted."

-----------------------------------------

Well, that's this chapter. It's a lot shorter because I felt the story progressed more easily that way. Depending on what you guys like, I can either write an epilogue for this and post it as a separate chapter, or add it on to this one. You guys decide.


	3. Epilogue: TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER

Eh, much less reviews this time around. Ouch, guys. Who knows, maybe I'll hit it big this time…

Disclaimer: Don't own it.

Chapter Three/Epilogue: TWO HUNDRED YEARS LATER

"My, my! To what do we owe the pleasure of this visit, Kurosaki-san?" asked Urahara Kisuke, bowing deep. "Or should I call you Kurosaki-taichou?"

Ichigo grinned. "Like I always tell you, 'Kurosaki-san' is fine. As for why I'm here… well, I just like to keep in touch, you know?

Shihouin Yoruichi smiled like a kitten with a fresh bowl of milk. "Well, we're always glad to have you," she said, mussing Ichigo's hair a bit.

"Ururu!" called Urahara to the back of the shop, "If you please, fetch us some sake."

"Right away, Kisuke-san," came her answer back.

"Excellent. So, Kurosaki-san, how's captaincy working for you?"

"Oh, it's fine. It's a nice life," he answered pleasantly.

"And how's Inoue, your little lieutenant?" asked Yoruichi.

A dazed smile came over Ichigo. "Magnificent. Wonderful. Sublime. Perfect."

Yoruichi raised an eyebrow. "I… was asking about how she feels, but it's great to see how you feel about your wife."

"Oh," said Ichigo blankly, both brows raised. "Well, she's also doing great. She loves the life in Soul Society."

"Ahh, it's great to hear that!" said Urahara, "Ooh! Here's Ururu with the sake."

"Thanks, Ururu-san," said Ichigo, taking some sake in a dish. "You've become quite the lady," he added and she nodded, blushing.

"Hah!" said Urahara, taking a sip, "I remember, back when we first met you, that you were so stubborn and boring about just taking a drop of alcohol."

"You call abiding by the law boring?" Ichigo returned.

Urahara squinted at Ichigo. "Let me get this straight. You were fine with storming an entire political society, maiming its highest officials, and directly violating the orders of top priority… and you were vehemently against drinking underage?"

Ichigo was stunned for a second. "… Shut up," he muttered sourly.

Laughing, Urahara said, "Oh, I'm just playing with you, as always. I forgot to ask, how are your children?"

"Sora and Masaki? They're fantastic. Sora's big into the whole older brother thing, loves his little sister very much, and little Masaki's just a joy to raise."

"Have they developed in terms of spiritual fortitude?"

"What do you mean?"

"Well…" Urahara rubbed his chin pensively, "Ever since your first encounter with that Gillian, way back when you got your Shinigami powers, I've wondered… what would happen if a man whose growth rate is several hundred times faster than most with spiritual power overflowing out of every pore on his body had children with a woman who could shield from nearly any attack and reverse events after the fact so that they never happened. I predicted that the resulting child would be a being unlike any other."

Ichigo's eyes widened. "… You really think our powers would mix?"

"Oh, I imagine so," said Urahara leisurely, "But hey, what do I know? I can't predict the future."

"Well," Ichigo said, chuckling, "Every prediction you've made since I've known you has been correct, so I guess I can look forward to raising spectacular Shinigami." Suddenly, a thought struck him. "Hey," he said, pointing an accusing finger at Urahara, "How did you know that I'd end up with Orihime?"

"Oh please," Yoruichi interjected, "Any idiot could immediately tell that she would die for you, and perhaps only a slightly smarter idiot could perceive that she was perfect for you." She relished the bitter look on Ichigo's face, as the word "idiot" seemed to crush him.

"Exactly! Could not have said it better myself, Yoruichi-san!" Urahara gleefully exclaimed, putting an arm around the smiling Yoruichi. "So, Kurosaki-san," Urahara said, leaning in, "I hear that you have a birthday coming up in a day or two."

"And how'd you hear that?"

"I've known you for two hundred years, Kurosaki-san. I think that it's pretty feasible that I know these kinds of things. So, what're you going to do to celebrate?

"Nothing," said Ichigo, shrugging. "Orihime wants to set up a huge party or something, but I keep telling her that it's fine."

"Birthdays are a good thing, Ichicgo," Yoruichi noted, "It's a celebration of the day you came into this world. People like to enjoy it because they enjoy your company."

"Yeah, I guess," said Ichigo.

"Mmm," said Urahara, licking his lips, "You know what would go great with this sake? Steak. I have an utterly _delicious_ filet mignon; Ururu could cook it up for us in a few minutes."

Ichigo shook his head. "Nah, I shouldn't. I've got a few more stops today. But before I go… I want to thank you two for everything you've given me. Without you guys… I wouldn't have anything that I have today."

"Ahh, I tell you every time… as captain of twelfth company, I trained many, many Shinigami. But none of them were as impressive as you. It was exciting training you."

"You mean torturing me," Ichigo noted with a grin.

"Yes, I suppose that adequately describes it. Still, you helped to bury the Hougyoku, the demon of my past, so I am indebted to you."

"Yeah, it was pretty interesting to see you progress so rapidly," said Yoruichi. "And it was fun to see you trounce Byakuya like that when he was being an idiot."

Smiling, Ichigo replied, "Well, thank you both. Now, I should get moving." Standing up and wrangling a Hell Butterfly, he added, "Thanks for the sake. I'll see you around."

"Always good to see you, Kurosaki-san. Give Inoue-san and the rest our regards!" Urahara called, waving as Ichigo stepped through the portal to Soul Society.

Watching Ichigo wave back, Yoruichi said to Urahara, "He's a good kid."

"He's not exactly a kid anymore, Yoruichi-san."

She sighed. "I suppose." Leaning in to kiss Urahara, she whispered, "Of course, that doesn't make us old, does it?"

"No, of course not," he muttered, closing the gap. Their lip pressed together, Yoruichi started figiting, scratching at her scarf.

"Something wrong?" Kisuke asked in between kisses.

"No, nothing," she said, scratching a bit more, "It's just… well, you know how much I hate wearing clothes."

Urahara grinned. "Well, we can fix that, you know."

She returned the smile, morphing out of her clothes into her tiny black cat form. One nimble leap later, she'd landed in Urahara's arms, purring as he stroked her, carrying her into his bedroom. He laid her on his bed, removing his hat, clogs, and cloak while Yoruichi reverted, a puff of smoke rising from the bed. When it cleared, Urahara revealed himself naked above Yoruichi's glorious body.

Bold as she was, Yoruichi reached out to grab her lover's penis. Kisuke, however, had other plans, intercepting her wrist as he loomed over her. "No, I don't think so," he said, putting a finger to her lips as he anticipated her protests. Slowly, he glided his hands over her body, tracing circles around her pert nipples, stroking her abdomen, and finally reaching the center of her legs. Slowly, he eased one finger inside her, and her eyes shot open, a gasp from her throat.

One finger soon became two, and at the third digit, Yoruichi was moaning and yelping, her entrance completely drenched. Kisuke smiled at his handiwork. Then, just at the edge of her climax, he ceased his ministrations. Her pupils dilated in confusion: her pleasure had ceased! "Kisuke… do it," she groaned.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that," he said, a devious smirk on his face. "What did you call me?"

"Kisuke…"

"Kisuke-what?"

"_Kisuke-sama!_" she cried, "Do it, do it now!"

"Do what?"

"Fuck me! Please, Kisuke-sama fuck me until I can't move, I beg you! I can't stand not having you inside me anymore!"

"Of course, my dear," he whispered and, licking his lips, he entered her, thrusting ever so slowly at first, allowing her to feel his every inch. He decided he'd taken the wheel long enough and let her steer. In her arousal, she began thrusting at full speed right off the bad. She assaulted his mouth, whipping away at him with her tongue, taking hold his of it with her lips and sucking it for all she was worth.

Kisuke's thrill elevated. He loved it, loved knowing that no matter how many times or in how many ways she tried to take the high ground in their sexual romps, Kisuke always made it out on top. She played the part of his ball-busting master during the day, but in their raw, passionate moments, where their urges drove their movements, Yoruichi was perpetually subjugated, forced to become Kisuke's slave, and she loved every moment of it. Their orgasm ripped through their bodies and minds, Yoruichi screaming until her voice was hoarse while Kisuke sucked her firm breasts and grabbed her well-toned form.

She tumbled onto a pillow, wheezing, trying futilely to avoid falling into a sex-coma. "You bastard," she whispered through a grin, "Damn you for being so fucking good."

Kisuke's ego swelled and, smiling as her eyes fluttered closed, he muttered, "I love you too, Yoruichi-san." With a kiss on her cheek, he added, "Go to sleep now," and quickly followed her into slumber.

Ichigo exited the portal to Soul Society, allowing the Hell Butterfly to roam free. He'd opened the portal to bring him to Junrinan, District One of Rukongai, the cleanest district of them all, where he wanted to meet a certain someone. Finding a small yet nice one-story house there, Ichigo knocked on the door.

"Come in, Kurosaki," came Uryu's voice from inside.

"Hey, Ishida," Ichigo said, entering to find Uryu preparing some scrambled eggs, "How's it going?"

"Alright, same as usual. You?"

"I'm great. Orihime's great, the kids are great… you know."

"Yep. So, why are you here?"

"I'm here to ask you to enter the Shinigami academy."

After a bit of a silence, Ishida replied, "You come here every year and request that. The answer is the same as ever: Absolutely not. You know how I feel about that."

Ichigo sighed. "Listen. You've got a zanpakutou. You've achieved Shikai and Bankai. But you still won't apply to the academy."

"I can't!" Uryu raged, "It's on my honor as a Quincy!"

"That was over two hundred _years_ ago!" Ichigo roared back. "Things have changed, people have changed, and it's a completely different Soul Society than the one we stormed!"

"That doesn't matter! I just _won't_!"

Ichigo exhaled. "Fine." Turning to leave, he said, "I know about you and Kurotsuchi Nemu-san."

"… What?" asked Uryu, shocked.

"I know that she sneaks over here to be with you outside of her father's orders. Do you understand the significance of that? In all the time I've known her, Nemu-san has _never_ disobeyed her father's orders or made a decision for herself. But you? You give her a soul. A purpose." Uryu remained silent. "If Mayuri ever finds out about it, he'll probably kill her."

"Kurosaki…"

"Twelfth Company's quarters are near to Thirteenth's. I hear him beating her every day. _Every. Single. Day._ She just takes it. She tries to hide the bruises, but it's apparent to all. Is that what your honor as a Quincy tells you? To let a woman you love be beaten senselessly?"

"Shut up…" Uryu whispered.

"But if you enter the academy, you can protect her. You can defend her from her father, give her a new life." Ichigo began to leave. "Maybe it's time to let go of an old grudge in favor of justice."

As Ichigo exited, Uryu said, "Hey, Kurosaki. In case I don't see you… happy birthday."

Ichigo grinned. "Thanks," he said, and left the building.

He wandered around Rukongai, looking for the next house on his trip. Rapping his knuckles gently on the door, he heard a voice from inside cheerfully call, "Come in!"

As he entered, he found himself smiling at the woman before him. "Hey… mom," he said, stepping closer to her.

She beamed at him, rushing forward and hugging him tightly. "Ichigo, my boy! How are you? You look so handsome! Are you eating well?"

He hugged her back. "I'm fine, mom. How are you?"

"I'm absolutely wonderful, now that you're here! Come, come, I'll make you some tea…"

"Don't worry about it. I have to get going soon anyway."

"You do?" she asked, pouting.

"Yeah… I'd love to stay, but I have my duties to attend to."

"Oh, I understand." She took a step back from him, looked him up and down, and smiled, tears of happiness in her eyes. Wiping them away, she said, "Look at you. My son, the captain." Ichigo blushed, grinning back.

"You know, mom," he said, "I could probably get you a place inside the Seireitei. I'm a captain, I could pull a few strings, and…"

"No, no, I like it here," she said, waving the suggestion away. "It's nice and quiet, and I like to help out around the community. So how's Orihime-chan?" she asked, trying to change the subject.

Ichigo acceded. "She's great. Really loves being my lieutenant."

"I hope you're not working her too hard!"

"I couldn't if I tried! The woman loves to help others, most of all me."

Masaki's smile widened. "I like her, Ichigo. I like her a lot, especially for you."

"Me too," he said. After a lull in the conversation, he said with a sigh, "I'm really sorry."

Her smile faded, replaced by a look of puzzlement. "For what?"

"For… causing you to die."

She reached her arm out and squeezed his shoulder. "Listen to me, Ichigo. I never once blamed you or hated you for what happened. In fact, I was glad, or, at least as glad as one can be when they die, that I had died protecting you. For a parent to give their life for their child is the ultimate honor. Your father would have done the same, I know it."

Finally, his smile reemerged. "Thanks, mom. I love you."

"I love you too, Ichigo, my wonderful little boy."

Chuckling, he returned, "I'm not so little anymore, mom. And… sorry to leave you, but I've got to get going."

"You'll always be little to me," she objected, "And next time you come 'round, bring along your wife and my grandchildren!"

"Of course, of course," he said, waving his hands, and then flash-stepping his way back to the Seireitei. "Yo! Jidanbo!" he called to the giant at the gate, who turned to look down at Ichigo.

"Ah! Ichigo! Welcome back, it's good to see you!" Jidanbo replied, smiling wide.

"You too. Could you open the gates for me, please?"

"Absolutely." With that, Jidanbo hoisted open the gate to the Seireitei, allowing Ichigo to swiftly enter. As he walked, he passed a few academy students, who began whispering at the sight of Ichigo.

"Ohhh, it's him! Kurosaki Ichigo-taichou, captain of Thirteenth Company!"

"He's sooo cool! Look at that giant sword on his back!"

"That's the legendary blade, Zangetsu, which alone stopped the power of one million zanpakutou! And I've heard he's really nice!"

"And sooo cute!" said a bubbly academy girl.

"Maori, you know as well as anyone else that he's happily married," said another girl.

"Oh, I know, and she's so wonderful, that Orihime-fukutaichou. Beautiful, smart, kind… and with great jugs like hers, how could any girl compete?" Maori pouted. "Oh, a girl can dream, I guess."

Ichigo had to resist chuckling as he walked along the streets. Suddenly, a Hell Butterfly came fluttering by and spoke to Ichigo in Yamada Hanatarou's voice, "Uhm, Ichigo-taichou… uh… please report to Fourth Company's quarters, we have your… your subordinate, fifth seat Moribuko Nobusuke… he's been wounded after protecting the rest of his squad from Menos… and you should come here. Thank you."

Again, Ichigo refrained from laughing at Hanatarou. Ah, Nobusuke, Ichigo thought fondly. He was a good soldier and admired Ichigo greatly, going so far as to dye his hair bright orange. Of course, Ichigo, having dealt with people mocking his hair his entire life and afterlife, had initially taken this act of flattery as insult.

"That punk," he'd fumed to Orihime after he'd seen Nobusuke's hair, "Making fun of his own Captain? I should have him arrested."

"You're wrong," Orihime had replied quietly.

"What's that?"

"It's not meant to insult you. Despite what you think, many, many people in Soul Society look up to you. Before you even came to live here, you fought marvelously for what you believed was right. You achieved power when everyone else underestimated you, you saved your friend, you exposed a huge layer of corruption, and you managed to defeat the most powerful menace Soul Society has ever known."

Ichigo, yet again stunned by his wife, had remained silent, smiling. After a moment, he'd said, "Well, I couldn't have done it without you."

"Still. That boy looks up to you. For whatever reason, he wants to be like you, and I think that's good of him."

Ichigo had exhaled at this point. "You're right, as usual."

Entering Fourth Company's quarters, he saw Hanatarou, who meekly waved and said, "Oh! Ichigo-taichou! Please follow me… I'll lead you to Nobusuke-san's room."

"Thanks, Hanatarou," he replied, and then entered his subordinate's room. He had a few bad gashes, but didn't appear to be in critical condition as he rested. "Hey, Moribuko."

Nobusuke's eyes shot open and he saluted, heartily replying, "Good day, Kurosaki-taichou, sir! Thank you for visiting, sir!"

"No problem," Ichigo returned. "I heard you defended your group from the Menos. That's quite a feat for someone in your seat."

"I-It was nothing, sir!" Nobusuke maintained, "I'm sure you would have done the same in my position! I was glad to protect my comrades, and I got to practice with _Kurozan_ (_black mountain_)."

Kurozan, Ichigo recalled, was Nobusuke's zanpakutou, whose shikai he'd unlocked long before becoming fifth seat. "Good man. Well, I'll send Orihime over later to make you all better."

"N-no need!" Nobusuke protested, "I wouldn't want to trouble the lieutenant! Besides, I'm already all be- Ow!" Nobusuke had tried to move from his bed and had accidentally exacerbated his wounds.

"Don't worry. She loves to help, and she likes you. She wouldn't want to see you hurt." Ichigo turned to exit the room, said, "I'm proud to have you in my company, Moribuko. Take care of yourself," and left, grinning to himself at the look of glee he was sure Nobusuke had adorned.

As Ichigo made his way back to his quarters once more, he was yet again interrupted, this time by none other than Byakuya. The two stopped upon the sight of each other.

"Kurosaki Ichigo," said Byakuya, demeanor cold as ever.

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Ichigo returned just as toneless.

"As I've told you, you are a childish, classless, unrefined brute who only managed to become captain by nothing short of a miracle."

Ichigo raised an eyebrow. "Gee, thank you so much. I'm glad we had this talk."

"That is all true. However…"

"However…" Ichigo repeated, urging him on.

"However, I understand you have a birthday coming up. My lieutenant and adopted sister Rukia-"

"I know who Rukia is, thanks."

"- has asked me to attend your celebration. It would be beneath me to refuse such a request from my treasured subordinate and family member, so consider this my R.S.V.P."

"Thanks a lot, but don't count on there being a celebration. I don't want one."

"Hm," muttered Byakuya, "That makes things simpler for me. Very well then, I bid you farewell."

"Keep it real, Byakuya," Ichigo replied, and walked past him.

Ichigo could hear Byakuya uttering, "'Keep it real,' calling me by my first name, sarcasm… of all the childish…" and relished this reaction.

At long last, Ichigo reached the Thirteenth Company stable, finding his son and daughter playing on the grass outside. "Daddy, daddy!" came his son, running up to him, "Masaki tried to eat, uhm, a grasshopper, but I di'in't let her!" he proclaimed.

Ichigo reached down and patted the boy on his light brown hair. "You're a good older brother, Sora. Keep it up."

Sora beamed at his father, then ran off to continue playing with his sister. Ichigo followed, watching his daughter walk, unwieldy, around and around. Being only a one year old and three years younger than her brother, she enjoyed testing out her newly found mobility. "How's my girl today?" he whispered, picking her up and tickling under her chin. She giggled, and Ichigo noted how remarkable the resemblance of that smile was to the woman he'd just visited earlier.

"Daddy!" called Sora, "Watch this! Look what I can do!" Ichigo turned to see Sora picking up a small twig, breaking it in half, and placing the two pieces a few inches apart from each other on the ground. Then, thrusting his palms at them, two small, barely visible sparks of light emerged from his hands and approached the broken wood. At first, Ichigo noticed nothing. Then, suddenly, the two halves edged toward each other by the smallest amount visibly possible. "Isn't that cool, daddy?"

"Well I'll be damned… Urahara-san was right," Ichigo uttered under his breath, a bit surprised by his son's display of power. "That's great. Keep practicing." Watching as Sora smiled again, Ichigo added, "Alright, let me take you guys inside to see mommy," scooped his children up, and entered the building.

Orihime was at her desk, writing on several documents. Sniffing the air, she lifted her head and beamed at her family as they stood in the entrance of the hall. "Ah! Hello, my love," she said, walking to and kissing Ichigo full on the lips. "And hello, my babies," she said in a cutesy voice, kissing each of her giggling children on the lips. As Ichigo set the children down, she asked, "How was everyone?"

"Urahara-san and Yoruichi-san are good, as usual," said Ichigo, embracing Orihime lightly. "Ishida… I think I've finally gotten him to become a Shinigami."

"That's wonderful!" she exclaimed, squeezing Ichigo's arm.

"As for mom… she's great too. She wants to see you guys again."

"I'd like to see her too, I like your mom."

"She likes you."

"Oh! I forgot to tell you!" she squeaked excitedly. "I finally subjugated my Zanpakutou!"

Ichigo's eyes widened. "You mean…"

"Yes! I've achieved Bankai at long last!"

Lifting Orihime up and spinning, he said, "That's amazing! What's it called?"

She grinned slyly. "Come out and I'll show you."

Taking her and turning back towards the exit, he called to his kids, "Mommy and daddy will be back in a moment! Be good!"

As they reached Thirteenth Company's courtyard, Ichigo released her hand and said, "Okay. Do your stuff."

First, Orihime unsheathed her zanpakutou and said, "_Sake (bloom)…_ _Hanamegami_ _(Flower Goddess)."_ The Zanpakutou morphed, shifting from its regular katana shape into a dual-edged blade whose hilt appeared as a flower with twelve petals. Ichigo knew from watching her fight that the petals left the blade and, as with her power from her earth days, acted as the Shun Shun Rikka. Lifting it parallel to the ground, Orihime cried, "Ban_kai!"_ An explosion of reiatsu and light engulfed Orihime, who emerged with a katana-shaped blade in each hand, both of which had six petals. Ichigo deduced that they were large, bladed versions of her old hairpins. She wore a beautiful, almost ethereal scarlet kimono, which was patterned with flowers of every variety. Her hair was worn loose, completely untied but for one more flower in her hair.

"Wow," was all Ichigo said. "That's amazing."

"To really see what it can do," she said quietly, "I'd need an enemy… will you please?"

He nodded. "Right." Whipping out Zangetsu, promising to himself that he wouldn't hurt her, he leapt in the air and sliced at her. She raised her sword much before he reached her and meters away from the point of her sword, a triangular shield blocked Ichigo's blow. Raising the other sword toward an area behind Ichigo, a burst of light came rocketing towards him at high velocity. He blocked just in time, but as she directed her first sword to his side, a second light burst toward Ichigo, ripping his flank. She slashed the sword in a great arc and a great sword of light fell towards Ichigo. Just as he lifted Zangetsu to block, the blade split into several light bursts, angling themselves swiftly and tearing at Ichigo.

As he was damaged, Orihime turned the sword on its side and Ichigo was encased in an oval shield, immediately healing his wounds. Ichigo, deciding to get serious, continued this test for a few more minutes, going so far as to fire shots of getsuga tenshou at her. Eventually, her breathing started getting heavy, and right before she fell over, Ichigo zoomed down and caught her. "Th… thank you, Ichigo," she uttered.

"No problem. It takes a while to master the movements of Bankai, so it's no wonder you're exhausted," he said, but thought, _"That is, unless you're me._"

She smiled again, but said, "Sorry to ruin this good mood, but a stack of paperwork just came in for our company's latest mission."

He sighed and picked her up, walking back inside. "Geez. Nothing spoils a good day like paperwork." The two reached their desks as the children played with each other, laughing and giggling throughout. The hours went on and Ichigo found himself yawning more and more often. "It never ends," he muttered, taking another form and filling it out.

"You're tired, aren't you, Ichigo?" said Orihime, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Just a little, yeah," he replied as he wrote.

"Well… what say you take a nap and I'll do the paperwork?"

He shook his head. "No, I…" he started, but was interrupted by a terrible yawn. "Mm… you sure you don't mind?"

"Not at all."

Standing, he began to walk towards his and her bed, and said, "Well, I'll see you in a few. Thank you." He collapsed on his bed, barely able to cover himself with the blankets before he dozed off into a deep sleep.

He awoke an unknown time later and observed his surroundings. The first thing he noticed was that he was not clad in his shihakushou and was instead very naked. He tried to lift himself, but found a force lightly restraining his arms. An incredibly sweet aroma wafted into his nostrils, making him smile. Above him hovered a large pair of breasts that he recognized as his wife's, which, he remembered, had delightfully grown much larger still in the last two centuries. Her pregnancies had been good for her, what with her power to heal any damage or blemishes and to keep any good changes. This did make her the most desired female Shinigami (effectively making him and her the most attractive couple in Soul Society), but they all knew that if they so much as thought about her in anything more than a platonic manner, Ichigo would beat them to a pulp.

Finally, he noticed his wife's face. Long ago, she, like he, had abandoned her young teen looks. Time had gifted her with an even more strikingly beautiful appearance, that of an elegant, graceful young woman, completing her goddess-like majesty. That same face now greeted him as he woke.

In other words, it was his absolute favorite way to wake up.

"Hello, sleepy head," she cooed.

"Hi…" he said, quietly, "What about the paperwork?"

"It's done," she replied coolly.

"What? How long have I been out?"

"About two hours."

"Huh?" he said, confused, "And how long has the paperwork been done?"

"About thirty minutes."

Ichigo was speechless. After a moment, he said, "There was a huge stack of papers there!"

"I know," she said pleasantly. "But it's gone now. It won't bother us anymore."

He sighed, and then smiled. "You're amazing, you know that?"

She returned the expression. "It was nothing. Still," she said, leaning in to whisper into his ear, "I would like a reward."

"Wh… where're the kids?" he whispered back, the blood in his body having retreated south.

"Oh, don't worry. They're with Rangiku-chan for the day."

"What?" he said, alarmed.

"Nanao-chan is supervising."

"Oh, then that's fine. Now, with all that in mind… what say we get down to our real business?"

"Ooh, yes," she said, kissing his chest tenderly, "I love this part."

After a few minutes of absolute tonguing, Orihime's mouth began to travel south. She relinquished his arms, opting to stroke every part of Ichigo she could reach. "Wha… what are you doing?" he asked almost silently.

"I'm doing you a favor."

"Y-you don't need to," he whispered.

"I want to," she replied. Finally, she found his large, stiff member, completely erect in the face of this situation. She began to stroke it up and down, gently massaging the tip as Ichigo gasped and hyperventilated. Then, she smothered his manhood with her boobs, rubbing them up and down its shaft. Ichigo was moaning at this point, panting, "Oh God… Oh God…" As he began to throb, Orihime moved her breasts so that a few inches of it remained exposed. Then, carefully, she wrapped her mouth around it, moving it in and out of her cheeks, swirling the hole enough to make Ichigo call out in pleasure and push her head down on it. She lapped at it more, rubbing her breasts along his member at the same time and Ichigo began screaming. She sensed he was going to climax, removed her mouth and chest, and impaled herself upon him, thrusting madly.

Ichigo followed suit and immediately began groping her breasts, squeezing them roughly, just how she liked it. She began crying out, "Yes! Fuck me, Ichigo, fuck me like never before!" and Ichigo, as always, was propelled by her sudden turn into raunchiness. Orihime was amazed that, even though she'd pleasured him exactly how he preferred, he managed to somehow make her orgasm first. She shrieked his name and, further turned on by her climax, screamed her name back two seconds later.

As they came down panting, she remained on top of him and he inside her. "I… I love you," she gasped to him.

"I love you so much," he returned, giving her a quick kiss.

Orihime rested her head on his muscled chest, remembering their innumerable sexual encounters. She could not recall any instance where he hadn't succeeded in giving her an orgasm and was fairly certain she'd never failed in doing the same. Reaching up to stroke his cheek, she asked, "Are… are you sure you don't want to have a party tomorrow?"

"Yeah…" he muttered, and closed his eyes.

"I could still plan it, if you wanted."

"No, it's okay… I don't want you to go through any trouble for me."

"Alright," she said, closing her lids, and the two of them promptly fell asleep.

Meanwhile, at the academy application office, Kurotsuchi Nemu was dully tending her shift as applicant receiver. Without looking up, she asked the next applicant, "Name, please."

"Ishida Uryu."

Nemu's eyes flew open wider than they ever had before. "I… Ishida-sama?"

Uryu smiled. "I've told you time after time. Just 'Uryu' is fine."

Nemu looked around to make sure no one was looking and then kissed Uryu, thrusting her tongue inside his mouth and tasting every part of him she could, an action quite surprising from the demure woman she appeared to be. As she parted from him, she whispered, joyful tears cascading from her ducts, "Thank you."

Uryu smiled.

The next morning, Ichigo woke up in bed alone. Grumbling, he uttered, "She's gotta have lieutenant duties…" Not hearing any crying or laughter not sensing any spiritual pressure within range, he figured Orihime must have taken the kids along with her. Stretching, he got up, dressed up in his shihakushou and captain's haori and left the building. As soon as he left, however, he heard a Hell Butterfly talk to him in its standard message voice as opposed to a recorded one. This meant whatever it wanted was urgent.

"Thirteenth Company Kurosaki-taichou! Immediately hurry to Fifth Company's quarters! Several Vasto Lorde-class Arrancar have entered the building and your strength is needed!"

Ichigo's heart stopped. Vasto Lorde? Arrancar? They hadn't been seen for two hundred years! Thinking no more than that, Ichigo silently unleashed Tensa Zangetsu with the addition of his Hollow mask and began flying towards Fifth Company's building. "_I can't even sense them from here,"_ he thought as he flew, "_Vasto Lordes that can hide spiritual pressure? Shit. Shit. I hope I can… no, I've _got _to make it in time!"_ Eventually, he arrived at his destination and blasted open the door to reveal… a dark room.

Disengaging Bankai and Hollow mask, he muttered, "What the hell…?"

Suddenly, a resounding cry came from all over the room as the lights flicked on, "_Surpriiiiise!"_

Ichigo was shocked speechless. All around the room were his fellow Shinigami: Rukia proudly wearing her Sixth Company Adjutant's badge, Orihime and his children, Chad, now captain of Eighth Company, Renji, sporting his Fifth Compay haori, Hitsugaya, now six feet tall, arm in arm with Matsumoto, and all the other captains, minus Kurotsuchi, Yamamoto and Soi Fon, who didn't care for such events; even Byakuya had shown up. Most surprising of all was Ishida, dressed in an academy student's uniform.

In the center of the room, there was an absolutely enormous cake, at least six feet wide and two feet tall, whose frosting read, "Happy 217th, Ichigo!"

"Uh…" he said after a few seconds, "Wha… what in the hell is this?"

"Your birthday party, Ichigo!" Orihime said, bouncing towards him, their children close behind.

"I, uh," he said awkwardly, "I thought I said I didn't want a party."

"Oh, did you?" she said in a tone that betrayed the question, "Well, I must have forgot! Silly me," she said slyly, "But now that you're here, you might as well enjoy it!"

Smiling, he said, "Yeah, I suppose. But I have a question, first. Whose idea was it to tell me several Vasto Lorde Arrancar had arrived here?"

Rukia raised her hand. "That'd be me, Ichigo!" she said proudly.

Ichigo didn't care that Byakuya was watching and smacked Rukia upside the head. "Idiot. Okay. Now, a second question. Who made the cake?"

"Don't worry," said Matsumoto, "I made it!"

Ichigo breathed a sigh of relief, picked up the slicing knife, said, "Alright then, let's dig in!" and began cutting the cake.

As they ate, Sora came up to Ichigo with Masaki wobbling at his side, handed Ichigo a piece of paper and said, "Daddy, daddy! I made you dis for your birfday!"

The drawing depicted, in crayon, Ichigo wielding Zangetsu and cleaving an x's-for-eyes Hollow in two while Orihime stood by, swooning, as demonstrated by the hearts above her head. Ichigo grinned. "I love it, Sora. Thank you," he said, and reached down to give the smiling Sora a hug and Masaki a kiss. The latter stood by clapping happily, a trait, Ichigo noticed, inherited from her mother.

"Well, happy birthday, Kurosaki," said Uryu, dipping a fork into his cake.

"Glad to see you could make it, Ishida," replied Ichigo.

"Yes, yes, I know what you're going to say, so just say it," said Uryu, "Get out all your 'told you so's' and whatnot all at once."

Ichigo smiled. "Nah, I won't bother. I didn't want you to join up to prove a point. I'm just glad you did."

Uryu sighed. "Well, I guess maybe in these two hundred years you've managed to grow up a little bit."

A vein throbbing in Ichigo's forehead, he roared, "Hey, shut up! I'll kick your ass!"

This prompted Uryu to laugh as he said, "Ah, _that's_ the Kurosaki I know!"

Ichigo's anger faded, replacing his scowl with a grin. "Well. With your strength, you better pass the course in a year, or I really _will_ beat the hell out of you!"

"You can count on it," said Uryu, nodding.

"You know, Third Company still needs a steady captain…"

"Still? It's been two centuries since the Winter War!"

"Yeah, I know, it's crazy. They've had a lot of interim captains, but no one really stuck. They just need someone with a good amount of power… someone with conviction… someone with a lot of intelligence… you know, real captain material," said Ichigo nudging Uryu with his elbow.

"Yeah, so why are you a captain?" Uryu smirked, raising an eyebrow.

Gritting his teeth, Ichigo did his best to restrain his anger. "Aa-neee-waay, it's just something to think about. Also here's a hint," he said, leaning in and lowering his voice, "You should talk to talk to Nemu-san."

Leaving a pensive Uryu, Ichigo walked over to Chad and Renji. "Hey guys," he said with a nod, "How's it going?"

"Fine," said Renji.

"Alright," said Chad, "Captaincy is treating us well, I think."

"Agreed," said Renji, "It's a lot of work, but it's also really rewarding. Lot of respect comes with the haori. I don't think anyone sees us as commoner rats anymore."

"Anyone except Kuchiki Byakuya," muttered Ichigo.

"I don't know if that's true," shrugged Chad. "He's filled with a lot of pride."

Ichigo scowled, "And a lot of shi-"

"Ho, Ichigo!" came a rumbling, all too familiar voice behind Ichigo.

Turning, Ichigo flinched at the sight of Zaraki Kenpachi. "Oh, shit," he mumbled.

"Whaddya say we go for another round, ah?" Kenpachi grinned crazily, his rusty zanpakutou resting on his shoulder.

"Oh, yeah, sure, I totally would, except-" Ichigo turned to Orihime some yards away, "Oh! Did you hear that? My wife's calling me."

"I didn't hear anythi-"

"Gotta go! Bye!" Ichigo said, and then zipped off towards his wife and kids. When he reached Orihime, he whispered, "Why did you invite Kenpachi?"

"I didn't!" she whispered back, disturbed, "He just heard you were having a party and showed up!"

Rubbing his temples, Ichigo uttered, "Okay. I just have to avoid him for the rest of the day."

Sora swallowed the bit of cake in his mouth and asked, "Daddy, who's Kenpachi?" while Masaki mushed around the bite she'd taken.

Ichigo leaned down and whispered, "He's a crazy man with an eye patch. I fought him once and he's chased me down for a rematch ever since."

"Oh. He does sound crazy," said Sora.

"You're a smart boy. You've got mommy's brains."

Just then, Masaki started groaning, "Uhn! Uhn!" and pulled at Sora's sleeve.

"Wha?" Sora asked, and his eyes widened in realization. "Oh! Daddy! We got you dis for your birfday!" Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out a small wristwatch and handed it to his father.

Ichigo smiled. It was actually a well-made watch, solid gold, and, he noticed, with special hands: The hour hand was in the shape of Orihime's hairpins, the minute resembled Zangetsu, and the second hand was crafted to be _Tensa Zangetsu_, which, Ichigo figured, represented the speed increase of his Bankai in comparison to his Shikai. "Wow," he muttered. Working the watch onto his arm, he asked, "Sora… where did you get this?"

"Ukitake-san gave it to us!" Sora exclaimed cheerfully.

"Jushirou, eh?" Ichigo murmured. Ukitake had retired long ago due to his health and given Ichigo his captaincy position. He still resided in the Seireitei, but no longer performed any Shinigami positions. With a nostalgic grin, he managed to secure the clasp on the band.

"Do… do you like it?" asked Sora, eyes hopeful, like dinner plates.

Ichigo took his son and daughter in a great hug. "I love it. Thank you, guys."

Orihime smiled at this scene and then took Ichigo's hand. "Come outside with me for a moment," she whispered, and then pulled Ichigo outside of the building, the children following close behind. As they exited, she lifted her son and daughter in her arms and motioned for Ichigo to follow as the two of them flash-stepped away.

"Where are we going?" Ichigo asked as they moved.

"You'll see," she smirked. Finally, they slowed to walking speed, having arrived in the center square of the Seireitei, the place most frequently visited by the Seireitei's denizens, where hundreds of Shinigami passed daily.

"So… what's here?" asked Ichigo, glancing left and right.

"This," she said, gesturing in front of her as they turned the corner.

Ichigo followed her direction, only to be stunned. The image in front of him was profoundly unbelievable, in both its image and its stature.

It was him, standing fifteen feet tall, an equally long Zangetsu on his shoulder, parallel to the ground, wearing the Shihouin cloak; he appeared as he had when he'd first stormed the Soukyoku, except in solid gold, save for two things: His hair was constructed from flawless ruby, Zangetsu's back was a shining obsidian, while the blade was a sheet of flawless diamond. "What… in hell… is this?" he breathed, mouth hanging open at this sight.

"Can't you tell? It's you," Orihime said pleasantly.

"I… I kind of got that."

"Read the plaque," she instructed.

Ichigo hadn't even noticed the plaque, his eyes too fixed on this towering vision of himself. His gaze moved towards the small plate at the base of the statue, and read:

THIRTEENTH COMPANY CAPTAIN KUROSAKI ICHIGO

THE HERO WHO SAVED SOUL SOCIETY, EARTH, AND EXISTENCE AS WE KNOW IT FROM THE MENACE OF AIZEN SOUSUKE AND HIS ARRANCAR ARMY

A PARAGON OF RESOLVE AND RIGHTEOUSNESS

There was a small blurb about Ichigo's career as a Shinigami, start to present, but Ichigo didn't read it. Instead, he turned to his children, who stared in awe at this behemoth representation of their father, and his wife. "Why…?" he asked.

"I told you, didn't I?" she said, leaning close to him, "Many people look up to you here. This wasn't my idea. When you became Captain, the decision to build this was passed through every decision-making organization in the Seireitei voted yes: Yamamoto-soutaichou, Central 46, the Shinigami Women's Association, the Noble Houses – including a certain Kuchiki Byakuya," she added with a wink. "Do you see now, Ichigo? You're a hero to all."

He sighed, grinning, "Yeah, I guess. You guys go back to the party… I'll catch up soon." Kissing him on the cheek, Orihime grasped her children and, with a swooshing noise, disappeared.

Ichigo peered up at himself, silently proud of his statue's triumphant grin. Deciding he didn't care how foolish felt, he said, "Lookin' sharp, big guy," and flash-stepped after his family.

The party eventually subsided and Ichigo and Orihime, carrying their sleeping children, returned to their sleeping quarters. After putting Sora and Masaki to bed, they arrived at their bed. After removing his shihakushou, Ichigo laid his head on his pillow and said, "Good night, Orihime."

"Oh, no you don't," she said, rolling him over on his back. Ichigo's eyes widened as he took in the sight before him: his wife, clad in skimpy, sexy, tight, frilly lingerie, her every feature accentuated by makeup, and her entire body glistening with oil.

"O-Orihime?"

"Happy birthday, Ichigo," she whispered into his ear, rubbing his muscled chest. "This… is my gift to you."

"I… uh…" he babbled on.

"Save your voice," she said, straddling him, "You're going to need it. It's going to be one long, long night."

Eight hours later, Ichigo found that she hadn't been lying.

Meanwhile, a knocking came on the door to Kurotsuchi Mayuri's office. "Who's there?" Mayuri asked impatiently.

In stepped Uryu, a serious look on his face. "Mayuri."

"What? Oh, it's just the Quincy boy. Whatever you want, make it quick, or get out," he said, fiddling with his instruments.

"I'm here to tell you that I'm freeing Nemu-san."

Mayuri paused, placed his instruments down, and then turned to face Uryu. "Would you repeat that, Quincy? I'm afraid I had something stupid in my ear."

"I'm going to free Nemu-san from your tyranny. I'm taking her with me."

Mayuri laughed. "That's hilarious. I'm her father, you have no say in this."

"I do," objected Uryu, "And if you ever so much as touch her again, I'll know. I won't kill you. I'll make you feel every ounce of pain you've made her feel and more until you beg for death."

Mayuri laughed again, this time maniacally. Whipping out Ashisogijizo, he said, "Just what can _you_ do about it, Quincy?" and flash-stepped behind Uryu, stabbing him.

But Uryu wasn't there. He was already behind Mayuri. "Hirenkyaku is still faster than shunpo," he said, unsheathing his blade. Placing it at Mayuri's throat, he said, "I'm strong, now. Over the last two hundred years, I've become stronger than you. This isn't a request. This is a warning. If you do any more damage to Nemu-san, you will answer to me." Uryu unleashed a wave of spiritual pressure unsettling enough to make Mayuri sweat and, withdrawing his blade, he left the frozen Mayuri to contemplate what had just happened.

Groaning, Ichigo's eyelids inched open, the rays of sunlight nudging him awake. With a quick stretch, Ichigo fondly recalled last night. He estimated, from the intensity of their relations, he had only a few sperm left. "Life is good," he uttered. The sounds of his children chattering and a repugnant odor reached his senses. Orihime must be making breakfast. Donning his uniform once more, he made his way toward the kitchen and was instantly greeted by two small figures hugging his shins. "Hey, kids," he said, crouching down to muss their hair a bit.

"Morning, Ichigo," Orihime smiled sweetly from the stove, steam coming from the pan in her hand.

"Hey, babe. What's that you're making?" he asked, covering his nostrils slightly.

"Bean paste on ham," she said pleasantly, as though it were the most normal thing in the world.

Ichigo sighed. His children seemed to have inherited her absurd taste buds, and Ichigo, having eaten her cooking for two hundred years, was well used to it. This did not change the fact that he did prefer a good steak and potatoes to whatever monstrosity she'd whipped up. "Smells… delicious," he replied flatly, setting Zangetsu down near the table and seating himself. Watching his kids play with little dolls that Rangiku had given them, he briefly wondered how Uryu was doing at the Academy.

"Alright, class, your first test is in one week," announced Sasakibe Choujirou, "It will be on Seireitei history, primarily concerning the Captains and their Bankai.

"One… week…" muttered Uryu, writing down the schedule in his notebook, and checked his textbook for the list of Bankai. "Let's see… Captain Kuchiki Byakuya, Senbonzakura Kageyoshi. Ex-captain Tousen Kaname, Enma Korougi. Captain Hitsugaya Toushirou, Daiguren Hyourinmaru. Captain Komamura Saijin, Kujukou Tengen Myou-ou. Captain Abarai Renji, Hihiou Zabimaru. Eleventh Company Third Seat Madarame Ikkaku, Ryuumon Houzukimaru. Captain Kurotsuchi Mayuri…"

Uryu paused, disgusted at this memory, "Konjiki Ashisogijizou. Captain Kurosaki Ichigo," Uryu paused again, pleased at this memory, "Tensa Zangetsu." A footnote was written, connected to Ichigo's Bankai: "_Note: Tensa Zangetsu is an exception to all Bankai in that all other Bankai create a large effect, an expansion of a Shinigami's spiritual pressure. Due to the overwhelming amount of spiritual force Captain Kurosaki's soul holds, his Bankai is more effective as a compression of his power, allowing him to move vastly faster than the average shun-po. All other Bankai follow the aforementioned pattern."_

Uryu felt confident about this test.

Meanwhile, down at Twelfth Company, Mayuri and Nemu were walking, delivering their report to the commander general, when an unseen rock caused Nemu to fall and drop her papers. Instinctively, Mayuri raised a hand to strike her, perhaps to impale her upon Ashisogijizou, but a second before his fist fell, he recalled Uryu's warning: _"And if you ever so much as touch her again, I'll know. I won't kill you. I'll make you feel every ounce of pain you've made her feel and more until you beg for death."_ A bead of sweat trickling down his temple, Mayuri merely shouted, "Watch where you're going, you incompetent imbecile! Your every mishap reflects on my work, you failure of a project!"

Nemu tilted her head, surprised at the lack of physical abuse. Not wanting to look a gift horse in the mouth, however, she collected her documents and hurried after her father.

The days passed, turning into weeks, turning into months. Ichigo watched his children grow, watched Masaki say her first real words, and watched Sora develop his fate-rejecting abilities. Uryu excelled in his classes, achieving top marks at every subject. His instructors practically guaranteed him a lieutenant position upon graduation, something they understood to be quite soon. Uryu's relationship with Nemu blossomed, and soon, he asked her for her hand in marriage.

The moment seemed to last forever. Nemu had to decide what to do, her artificially built soul in chaos, and her manufactured body quivering. Would she betray her father, her creator, her master, in favor of this new, kind, wonderful man? A relationship was one thing, but marriage? An afterlifelong commitment to a different person than the one she'd been taught to worship? She looked into his bespectacled eyes and found her answer. The walls came down. Crying so hard she felt fear her tear ducts would collapse, she said yes, and gave Uryu the most passionate kiss of his existence.

When Uryu told Mayuri, the latter paused for a second, mumbled just audibly enough for Uryu to hear, "Hmm… a gikongan breaking free of instructed protocol? How deliciously interesting… back to research."

Uryu smiled triumphantly. "Good man," he said, and left. When he reached his dormitory room, he found a stark naked Nemu, licking her lips and inviting him with a seductively slow flick of her finger. "N… Nemu-san?"

"Come, Uryu-sama," she said sultrily. "I… I have freedom, now… and it's thanks to you. I can live without fear in my heart. I can make choices, and my first choice is to make love to you for as long as I can without my body giving out."

Uryu gulped, aware that he was blushing severely. "I… that is…." Clearing his throat, he approached her. "Well, I wouldn't want to be rude."

"Thank you," she said, wrapping her arms around him as though her existence depended on it. "I love you," she whispered, and inserted her tongue into his mouth. Uryu went blind for a moment before whipping wonderfully back to reality.

They parted but for a moment, allowing Uryu to breathe, "I love you too," before going at it once more.

As they enjoyed their night of passion, Ichigo, in Thirteenth Company's master quarters, held his sleeping wife arm in arm. Suddenly, Zangetsu appeared before him, an unusual occurrence for Ichigo. "How are you?" Zangetsu asked quietly.

Ichigo grinned. "How's the weather?"

"Brilliant," said Zangetsu. "It hasn't rained in centuries."

"Just like I promised."

"Just like you promised," Zangetsu reiterated. "Only two hundred years, though. You still have over ten times that left, I believe."

"Assuming all goes well," inserted Ichigo.

"It will."

"I know."

"Well, I just wanted to check on you," said Zangetsu. "I'll see you around, Ichigo."

"Keep in touch," said Ichigo, watching his sword fade. He stroked Orihime's hair and watched, pleased, as a smile crept across her face. Ichigo smiled too, and reflected on his life.

His life was quiet. His life was stable.

He had his friends. He had his children. He had her.

It was all he wanted, and it would never have happened, but for one lonely Saturday.

END

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Well, that's that. If you guys want, I can make a sequel or something, depending on the reviews.

See what I did there with the sex sequences? What with the switching it up, and… oh, well, I just hope they were adequate. Anyway, review a lot, please! And for you Naruto/Hinata lovers out there, I'm planning something with them, too! Keep on the lookout!


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